


RokuShi Collection

by FanficWriter827



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Almost Kiss, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Flying, Halloween, It's going to be depressing for a moment, Massage, Modern AU, One Shot Collection, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post Christmas, Self-Indulgent, Talking About Babies, The Author Thinks That He's Clever, over time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-20
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2020-07-09 01:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 35,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19879240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanficWriter827/pseuds/FanficWriter827
Summary: This will be a series of RokuShi One Shots and will update sporadically.





	1. Magic Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Whenever Roxas is feeling exhausted Xion likes to be there for him. However she wants to try something different, but has to improvise due to a lack of knowledge about giving massages.

It was an average day as Xion was just sitting down, reading a book she meant to catch up on. She was too focused on her reading as she initially didn’t notice Roxas stumbling into the room although the sound of him bumping into the couch caused her to raise her head, she quickly set her book down as she noticed his exhausted expression and bumbling movements. Roxas however noticed her staring and tried to hide how tired he was.

“Hey” he said a little weakly, “How are you doing today?” He noticed her look of sympathy, ‘too late’ he thought to himself.

“Roxas, what happened today?” she began to stand up, “You look like you’re about to keel over any second.” He attempted to play it off, donning a fake smile.

He nervously began to laugh, “Oh this? It’s nothing, no need to worry about it.” He lied.

She frowned at his obvious lie, “You know lying only makes me more worried about you.” She began to inspect his clothes noticing the dirt splotches and even a tear on his shirt. “Did Hayner put you up to a stupid stunt again?” 

Roxas refused to look her in the eyes as he began to trail off, “Noooo…” he quickly looked to see her with her arms crossed, tapping a foot on the ground impatiently waiting for the actual truth, “Maybe?” he nervously said.

“What did he want you to do this time?” he took a moment to choose his next words carefully before continuing, “Hayner wanted to see if I could transform my keyblades into a glider like Ven’s.” She was incredulous at that statement.

“Roxas you know we haven’t properly learned how to do keyblade transformations and yet you’re pulling that kind of stunt! Why would you do such a thing?”

He did his best to play it off, knowing that he needs to be careful, “It was only going to be for a couple of seconds!”

She wasn’t buying any of it, “That ‘couple of seconds’ got you really hurt, you moron! What was the reason?”  
“Do you promise to not get mad?” she noticed that he was preemptively flinching.

“Roxas I can’t stay mad at you, I’m just worried right now.”

Roxas took a deep breath, “I wanted to show off a little, I thought it would be cool and I wanted to surprise you with how skilled I’ve gotten.”

She didn’t quite know how to feel about that explanation, “Roxas, while I can appreciate you taking your keyblade practice seriously, don’t go overboard just to impress me, and especially don’t let others goad you into pulling dumb stunts.”

Roxas was relieved, “So you’re not mad at me?” 

Xion smiled sweetly. “Like I said, I can’t stay mad at you Roxas.” Her expression then darkened, “It’s Hayner I’m going to bury in a very deep hole the next time I see him.”

“Please don’t, that stunt was like 50% my fault and Hayner is a good friend.”

She huffed before pointing at him, “Fine, besides we have more important things to worry about right now, such as you.”

Roxas was confused “Me?”

“Yes you, you’re hurt and you stink.”

“I’m not hurt, I’m as strong as ever” he attempted to bring his arms up to try and flex but when he did, he winced and let out a quick cry of pain.

She was undeterred as she approached him, “You are a terrible liar, we both know that if our positions we’re reversed you would be spoiling me rotten right now.”

“You don’t have to go crazy…” Xion quickly grabbed him by the arm and began to carefully drag him towards the bathroom, “Let me spoil you with my love Roxas, but first you need to take a shower.” He knew there wasn’t any point in arguing with her, so he went along with her.

“I will leave a fresh set of clothes for you by the bathroom door, when you’re done, meet me in the living room.”

Roxas quickly blinked several times in confusion, “Wait how do you know…” but the door closed in his face before he could get his question out.

She waited till she heard the water started and turned towards his room to fetch some clothes. Truth be told, she may have stolen one of his shirts before, hence why she knows exactly where all of his clothes are. After depositing them in a neat stack and a knock on the door so that he knows they’re there, she went back to the living room and waited.

She knew that she wanted to try giving him a massage, however she didn’t really know how. She read that a massage is a good way to relieve tension, she’s only read a brief summary though. She thought about the irony of the situation, ‘I just got done chiding him about going overboard in terms of wowing her, yet here I am attempting to do something I’m not good at. Although there is one thing, I could try…’

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of him approaching, ‘Welp time to think fast’ she thought. Perhaps if she used her magic, she could perhaps mask her lack of skill, but which one? ‘Thunder magic could stimulate the muscles, but it would freak him out. I hear heat could help with sore muscles but I’m not sure how effective additional heat would be after a hot shower.’ She thought for another moment before realizing, ‘Ice would be good right now, but I need to disguise it so it isn’t obvious.’ 

She looked frantically around the room before she noticed a pair of gloves, ‘Perfect!’ as she mentally prepared herself.

As Roxas emerged he saw her standing there gesturing towards the couch, “So… what is it do you want me to do now?” 

“Lie down”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to give you a massage.” Xion said attempting to remain confident.

She hoped that he couldn’t see right through her, “You know you don’t have to, right?”

“It’s okay, I want to and besides the last thing I need is for you to be really sore for the next few days.”

He pointed to her hands, “and what are the gloves for?”

She quickly stammered, “Oh uh these? These are special gloves that are ergonomically designed to ease tension and help with making a full recovery. They are called the ‘Magic Hands’.”

She saw him quickly smirk for a second, “Sure whatever you say…” as he laid down on the couch.

Xion took a moment to focus and concentrate, she had cast ice magic many times before, but she needed just a little bit. She felt her hands begin to chill as she knew she was ready. Though she would have to distract him, lest he catch on.

She did her best to straddle him and put her hands on his shoulders, “Sheesh you feel stiff” she said pretending to act like she knows what she’s doing, “Just what exactly did you do?” As she began to rub her hands in circles around his shoulders.

Roxas turning his head so that he wouldn’t be muffled, “Okay so me and Hayner were just minding our own business-” Xion interrupted, “That sounds like a lie but continue” as she shifted her hands a little lower trying to find any knots.

He was amused, “Okay then, we were minding our own business when Hayner suggested that I should do something cool and I show you.”

Xion was confused, “Why would you go for a glider transformation, you know that’s above our level.”

“Well considering what we can already do, I needed to step it up, Hayner suggested I transform my keyblades and I thought that I would do a trick.”

Xion momentarily paused and flatly asked, “What did you do?”

“Okay, now don’t judge me, I transformed my keyblades into a glider like Ven’s because it’s like a skateboard so I figured that it would be the easiest.”

“…and what kind of trick did you do?” as she began to resume this time, rubbing between his shoulder blades, making sure to maintain her concentration on her chilly hands, and applying pressure every so often.

“I thought it would be cool if I did one-handed hand stand while Hayner watched, it went well for 5 seconds before…”

“Before what?”

“I clipped a tree and was sent and tumbling and rolling across the ground before landing in some mud.”

“You are so lucky that you only walked away with scrapes you could’ve broken something you dummy.”

“Hey now, I’m plenty durable and also that’s what the potions are for.”

“Why did you do all of this again?” She heard a pop and got worried as she heard Roxas groan, she hesitantly asked, “Uh was that an ‘ahhh’ groan or an ‘ugghh’ groan?”

“ahhh” came the lazy response from beneath her, “I’m fine, just a pop, felt really good though.”

She breathed a sigh of relief before Roxas continued, “Like I said, I wanted to impress you.”

“Impress me?” she was confused.

“Yes” he said flatly.

“Roxas why are you going this far to try and impress me; you know that we’re already dating right? The struggle is over, you won.”

“I know but I wanted to show you something cool.”

“I already think that you’re cool, even if you can be a massive dork sometimes.”

“Really?”

“You really are dense; how many girls can say that their boyfriend practically teleported to another world just because she was in danger?”

“Not many.”

“I think you’re cool already; you don’t need to pull crazy stunts just to get my attention me and impress me.” As she finished her massage, she got off him and watched as he pulled himself up, so that he was sitting next to her.

He smiled at her, “Xion, I love you, but you can be a hypocrite sometimes.”

She blinked and was taken aback “Huh?”

He wordlessly slipped his hand into hers as he felt the residual cold left from the magic, “Magic Hands huh? Didn’t think you meant it literally.”

She felt an embarrassing blush coming on, “H-how did you know?”

“Well for starters, those are the gloves Pence loaned me.”

She turned her hand and sure enough saw ‘Dog Street’ on it, ‘How could I have been so stupid!’ she panicked.

Roxas placed his other hand on her shoulder to calm her down, “I kind of quickly figured it out that you didn’t know what you were doing, though I have to say it was very clever to use magic to help, you’re a natural at this though.”

At first, she felt relieved but then it quickly dawned on her, “Wait if you knew, then why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because you looked like you were having fun and you were so determined, I thought it was adorable.”

“Well now I just feel silly”

“Don’t be, it was very sweet of you, even if you are being a hypocrite.”

“Wha-?” Xion began to stammer

“You were going on about how I don’t need to go overboard to impress you, yet here you are straining yourself in order to try and make me feel better. Like you said, ‘you won the contest’, you’ve had my heart since day 1.”

She nervously responded, “Heh, well I guess when you put it that way.”

He pulled her into a hug, “Don’t worry about it, I liked it though next time try not to use magic too much, I don’t want you to hurt yourself for my sake.”

“Only if you promise to not pull anymore daredevil stunts, I don’t want you to really hurt yourself.”

“Sure, though only if I get to give you a massage next time.”

She was taken aback, blush still evident on her face, “What did you say?”

“Seems like fun, plus it could be a good way to help you unwind after a training session.”

“Uh, if you insist, you don’t have to though.”

Roxas was insistent, “You didn’t have to give me one either, though I can’t use magic well so I’ll have to quickly learn and I’ll be the one to spoil you rotten next time.”

Xion was quick to remind him, “Didn’t I just tell you not to go overboard for my sake.”

Roxas leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, “If it’s for you, it’s always worth it, now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a nap, that massage is making me feel really tired right now.” He left her before she could properly respond.

She quickly grabbed her book, face still red, she was left alone both equal parts happy and frustrated.


	2. Proximity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two keyblade wielders are sent on a mission to Beast’s Castle together to take on a special heartless, however what happens when they get a little too close to each other.

The two keyblade wielders stepped through the darkness corridor and ended up in the ballroom. Their mission today was an interesting one; the two were normally not paired up together as they were often sent off to different locations in order maximize heart collecting but Saïx felt it was appropriate concerning the matter at hand. He had received a report of a larger than usual gathering of heartless, apparently being led by an unknown heartless. Not wanting to pass up such an opportunity he sent the two off to eliminate every last one of them. 

“So how many heartless do you think there will be?” asked Roxas. Xion wasn’t quite sure herself, “I mean it has to be a lot if we’re here together.” Roxas shrugged, “Even if he’s wrong about this it’s fine by me, I like going on missions with you.” For some reason she felt a blush creeping onto her face as she shyly responded, “Yeah, it’s been a long while since we’ve gone on a mission together.” She was thankful as he evidently didn’t notice her red face, “Then let’s both do our best today.” He led the way as she trailed behind, she thought to herself, ‘why does he have such an effect on me, we’ve gone on missions before so why does this suddenly feel so different?’ she stowed those thoughts away as she knew she should be focusing on the battle coming up.

The two first fought in the entrance hall of the castle, it was mostly minor heartless such as shadows, red nocturnes, and the occasional soldier. The two always worked well together and were able to effortlessly cover each other, and they always kept a close on each other not wanting to see the other get hurt. While they were fighting Xion noticed one shadow shuffling away towards the West Hall and made sure to notify Roxas, after the battle they moved towards the West Hall. She felt her thoughts from earlier begin to intrude again, 

‘Being around Roxas feels so weird…’ she couldn’t quite explain it but she feels different around him, ‘it’s like I always want to be near him.’ She likes spending time with him but now it feels like she wants to spend all of her time with him, she wanted to bring it up with him wondering if he thinks the same way but she doesn’t want to make it weird between the two of them.

When they entered the West Hall they were beset by more heartless, this time they were attacked by a large number of large bodies, those dog heartless that she can’t quite recall the name of, some of those knight looking heartless with the lances, and even two weird heartless that have lion head shields that she's never seen before. Throughout the fight she would keep focusing on Roxas, making it a point to focus on any heartless who hurt him, she considered it her priority to make sure he’s safe. It was a tiring fight but she knows that she and Roxas can handle anything together. 

They were just about finished when she noticed that the heartless with the shield was aiming a spell right at Roxas, she didn’t have enough time to call out so that he could dodge so she reached out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him close to her while she raised her keyblade to use a fire spell. She must’ve pulled Roxas harder than she thought as he stumbled forward and in turn caused her to stumble back and they both stumbled into the nearby pillar, her back against the wall while he’s holding his arm out, keeping himself steady against the wall. However, her fire spell still destroyed the heartless, just leaving the two of them alone and very close to each other.  


Roxas was amazed, “Wow you were incredible Xion!”

She was flustered, “Oh it was nothing…”

“Don’t be so modest you did most of the work.”

“Thanks…” she trailed off and now noticed the predicament they were in, and how close they were. She had one arm hooked underneath one of his and the other hand was resting on the back of his neck. Their faces were just a few inches apart and she had no idea what to do as they were just staring at each other silently; she knew that she should back away but she couldn’t bring herself to move, she wanted to see what would happen next. 

Her thoughts were racing at a mile a minute, she had no idea how to deal with this influx of thoughts. ‘being this close feels… nice’ she thought, her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she felt Roxas play with her hair a little, she felt Roxas use that hand to cup her cheek as for some reason she was drawn to his lips, ‘…what is he going to do?’ she thought; she didn’t want to speak lest she ruin the moment. She noticed that he was moving his head towards hers, his lips beginning to pucker, ‘is he…is he going to try and touch my lips with his?’ she knows that there is a name for this action, but she can’t remember it right now. She doesn’t know what he is going to do, but she knows that she is curious.

She wants to be closer to him, she notes that her physical heart is beating wildly, ‘Why is my heart going crazy?’ she doesn’t know how to comprehend what she is feeling, the only other time her heart races like this is when she’s fighting the heartless. ‘But that doesn’t make any sense Roxas is my best friend, he's not an enemy; maybe I’m just excited?’. She knows that she likes it whenever she and Roxas hold hands, so maybe she’ll like it if they touch lips. She heard that it’s something two people do when they’re really close, aren’t the two of them like that? 

She noticed that Roxas was closing his eyes, maybe it was still an instinctual thing? Regardless she began to slowly close her eyes as well and just before she fully shut her eyes and she felt his breath on her lips and just before they connected she saw it, the heartless that must have been the leader of the group they just fought.

She sprang into action immediately summoning her keyblade and charging the heartless which seemed to be a giant suit of armor with a massive sword, which makes sense why they didn’t immediately see it during the initial fight, it must have blended in with the environment and waited for the right moment to strike. She unfortunately had to free herself from Roxas’s grip and interrupt whatever it was he was going to do. She felt incensed over having been interrupted and ruining their quiet moment and began to engage the heartless, dodging the heartless’s massive swings easily but she noticed that something was amiss, where was Roxas?

As if on cue she heard Roxas scream at the heartless and charged him and the ensuing clash was brutal. She took a few steps back because she didn’t want to get in the way of his berserk like fury, he must be even angrier than she was at having been interrupted she thought to herself. She almost felt bad for the heartless as Roxas tore it apart. After the interrupter was slain, she noticed that Roxas quickly threw up his hood and began to retreat back to where the dark corridor was. ‘is he…is he embarrassed?’ she thought as she picked up the pace to try and get ahold of him.

“Roxas wait!” as she grabbed his arm,

“I’M SORRY!!!” he shouted as she noticed that his hood came down and his face was beet red.

“What? Calm down Roxas” she was confused,

“I…I don’t know what came over me, I don't know what got into me but I was in the heat of moment, but I don’t want take advantage of you and…”

“Roxas, it’s okay!” she cut him off wanting him to calm down

“Really?” she noticed that he was still flinching, was he expecting her to be mad at him?

“Yeah, I was really curious about what you were going to do.”

Roxas thought for a moment, “I honestly don’t know, it was just a sudden heat of the moment thing and it just felt natural.”

“I honestly feel the same way, it felt exciting, I wanted to see what you were going to do.” She responded, she decided now was a good time as any to bring up the topic that’s been gnawing at her.

Roxas seemed to notice her hesitance, “Something on your mind?” 

She took a deep breath before continuing, “Yes actually… do you… like being around me?”

Now Roxas was confused, “Yeah, I like being around you, but what do you mean by that?”

Xion began to nervously twiddle her thumbs, “I don’t know how to describe it but it’s like I always want to be around you and be close to you like when we’re holding hands it feels really nice and I was wondering if you felt the same.”

“Now that you mention it… I do feel the same way, it’s like you’re always on my mind and I always want to be next to you, I don’t quite know what I’m feeling, or if I can feel for that matter, but I know that I feel happy around you.”

She had a big smile on her face, “That’s great to hear!” she noticed that the two were just staring at each other again. A few seconds passed before she quietly asked, “Do you think we can try that lip touching thing again?”

She noticed that Roxas was also hesitant, “Yes! Well I mean if you want to?”  


She flatly said, “I do want to”

“Okay then” as he stepped closer to her again as this time he slowly wrapped an arm around her waist while placing his other hand on the back of her head as she wrapped both arms around his neck this time, deciding that it was a much more comfortable position compared to their previous one.

They were merely centimeters away when Roxas hesitantly pecked her on the lips. The brief contact while fleeting was absolutely electrifying for her, she hadn’t felt so ecstatic in a long while. When they were just staring at each other again she hesitantly asked,

“Can you…can you do it again?”

“S-Sure” he was still nervous but happy at her anticipation.

He leaned in again this time with a little less hesitance pressing his lips to hers again for a few more seconds this time before pulling back, much to her disappointment. Before they could fully separate, she pulled him for another kiss, this time with a lot less hesitance as she tried to somehow pull him in closer to her. She smiled as she felt him kiss her back with just as much eagerness, the need for air being the only thing that separated the two from each other. They both noticed the red on each other’s faces and began to giggle uncontrollably.

Roxas was the one who spoke first, “That was… that was incredible!”

Xion giggled in response, “I can see why you wanted to do that earlier.”

They were both short on breath but he continued, “It was something about being so close to you and just the adrenaline that just made me want to do it.”

“I’m glad you did; I just couldn’t keep my eyes off you”

“Funny because I feel the same way about you, I just find you really pretty.”

She giggled again, “I suppose it’s a good thing I find you so handsome then.”

He laughed as he turned to walk back to the dark corridor again, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just need a moment…” as she took off her glove and gingerly touched her lips with her hand still feeling the sensation from earlier and smiled happily. She picked up her pace to catch up with him and then hesitantly slipped her hand into his, he stopped for a moment and removed his glove so that he could hold her hand without their gloves in the way. Even though her heart was racing she felt at peace.

She was curious though, “Do you think we should ask Axel about this feeling?” 

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea, he’d probably know about this sensation.”

They walked together back to the corridor hand in hand, perhaps feeling the most comfortable she has ever felt in her life. There are many things she doesn’t understand such as emotions and who she is. But what she does know is that so long as Roxas is with her she feels at peace, that as long as they’re together she isn’t nervous about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For extra hilarity when Roxas is screaming at the heartless and charging it, I like to imagine he’s screaming like Homer when he’s charging the barbecue pit out of frustration.  
> https://youtu.be/A4FjJ9tH5HY?t=62


	3. Lovesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas wants to get out of bed and Xion won’t let him. I have no summary, just fluff.

Roxas began to stir, it was an average morning and he awoke to a feeling of something wrapped around him. He looked down to see arms wrapped around him a familiar mop of black hair against his chest and within the crook of his neck and smiled. It was a familiar sight that he always liked to see but he knew the circumstances weren’t always the best whenever this happens.

Normally the two weren’t allowed to share a bed, the primary reason being Lea going on about something regarding birds, bees, and innocence which didn’t make any sense if he was being honest but an exception was made after recent events. 

The two had recently started having terrible nightmares about the events that have transpired and unfortunately there aren’t a whole lot of people they can talk to about what happened but they at least have each other and their group of friends. Roxas and Xion both found that their nightmares weren’t so severe if the two were together and so they had developed a system together. If either one of them woke up from a nightmare, they would get out of bed, go the other person’s room and just climb into bed.

Roxas remembers the first time they slept together; it was an awkward jumble of limbs as the two were trying to figure out comfortable sleeping positions but over time the two fell into a more comfortable rhythm, almost like second nature. Roxas remembers the last time he had a nightmare and he wanted to be comforted. He simply walked into Xion’s room; she had already made room on her bed as that also became a common practice between the two. Even though she was fast asleep, the moment he sat on her bed and laid down, she had already pulled him into her embrace and he returned the favor immediately feeling at peace. He always wonders if she can hear his heart beat whenever she rests her head against his chest, he also wonders if he can hear her heart beat, are they in sync? He likes to think so. Which of course brings him to the present moment.

As content as he felt just laying down and cuddling with her, he knew they couldn’t stay in bed together all day. Getting Xion to let go however is a very delicate matter as she is without a doubt the cuddlier of the two. Sliding out of her grip and/or prying her off is a no go, not after what happened last time. He certainly can’t tickle her as that will only result in a tickle war, so he went for a simpler option. He began to rub her back and planted a kiss on the top of her head, hoping to get her to stir, “Xion…Xion…” he quietly called out to her, “we have to get up, we can’t stay in bed all day y’know…” he saw her begin to shift her head slightly in his direction but with her eyes still shut, as he heard her mumble, “we can try…”

As Roxas began to shift slightly he heard Xion protest, “We don’t have anything important to do today, you can stay.”

“Oh, what if I need to take a shower?” Roxas questioned

“You can take one later.”

“What if I’m too gross to cuddle?”

“You’re just fine right now.”

“I could drag you out of bed”

At this he heard Xion pause as he saw a devilish smile adorn her face as he knew that she was wide awake at this point and is just playing with him.

“You could try... but I won’t let you get very far…” as she proceeded to tighten her grip

Roxas knew she wasn’t bluffing, she may not look like it, but she is very strong as he knows from how easily and effortlessly, she can swing around Isa’s Claymore. He knows she’s playing around but he also knows that she won’t give up easily.

He continued to rub her back slowly, “If you want to cuddle something, you can cuddle with a pillow you know.”

“But why would I do that when I already have the best pillow?” She asked inquisitively, nuzzling her head into his shoulder.

Roxas asked in an amused tone, “Am I your boyfriend or your pillow?”

“Yes” Xion answered flatly

“You’re acting like a little kid you know”

Xion’s eyes half opened as she began to lightly poke him in the chest, “As a matter of fact, I’m not even two years old, I am a little kid.” She closed her eyes again and readjusted herself, “Just a little kid who wants to cuddle with her Roxy.”

“What if someone needs my help today?” Roxas asked

“Tell them you’re taking of your sick girlfriend.”

“Oh, your sick now?” Roxas asked in a combination of both amusement and skepticism. 

“Yep terribly sick and you’re the only one who can help me…” she added in a fake cough for emphasis.

“Alright, what are you sick from?”

“I’m lovesick.”

“Lovesick?”

“Yes lovesick, it’s a real illness.”

“Alright now I’m curious what happens when a person is ‘lovesick’?” Roxas knew she was just making it up but he has to admit, he’s been enjoying these past few minutes just as much as she has, he assumes.

“Lovesickness is when a person is crippled by a terrible loneliness that can only be cured by spending significant time with their significant other and receiving cuddles and/or kisses from the person that they love.”

“Is it contagious?”

“I kind of hope so…” Xion sheepishly said.

Now Roxas was even more skeptical, “So you want me to get sick?” he noticed that amusingly she wasn’t even pretending to feign sleep anymore even though she still had her eyes closed.

She was starting to stammer slightly “W-Well I mean, not really but it would allow us to spend more time together.”

“Even though we spend most of our time together?”

“I can never get enough time with you” He blushed slightly at that remark and he noticed the pinkish tint creeping onto her face.

“So, what do I need to do to help you?” 

“Huh?”

“You said I’m the only one who can help you”

“You still haven’t figured it out yet? I told you either lots of cuddling and/or kisses so if you want to get out of bed…” She couldn’t help but don a coy smile as she tapped her lips and her eyes were still shut.

“So, I’m your prisoner then unless I pay your ransom?”

“Hmm, ransom is too harsh a word, I prefer the term ‘toll’.”

“Toll?”

“Yeah, like a toll booth, you don’t have to pay the toll, but you’re not going to go anywhere for a very long time.”

“Well so be it…” Roxas pretended to have a resigned tone which lead to a chuckle from Xion who now adjusted herself and puckered her lips expectantly.

Roxas decided to mess with her by kissing the top of her head, much to her frustration as he heard her groan, “Not there”. he responded by kissing her forehead; he could hear her frustration growing.

“Not there either Roxy…” he decided to press his luck and planted a kiss on her cheek this time. This time he saw her eyes shoot open as she sweetly said to him, “You seem to be having trouble figuring out where I want you to kiss me… so let me help you out.”

Without warning she lunged at him capturing his lips in a series of multiple kisses which he did his best to reciprocate. After she was done the two just simply stared at each other for a few seconds before Roxas spoke up,

“Satisfied?”

Xion had a contented smile on her face, “Yes, for now.”

“For now?”

“Yes, treatment for lovesick disease requires multiple sessions in order to for it to go away.”

“I see…”

Xion moved off Roxas letting him properly sit up, “But for now I’m content”

“Good to know…” said Roxas but before he got off the bed, he turned to Xion and while she wasn’t expecting it, he gave her a surprise kiss.

When Roxas pulled back she asked him, “Not that I’m complaining…but what was that for?”

“Just making sure you’re okay until the next session.”

Xion giggled, “You’re so sweet and thoughtful Roxas.”

He loves her so much.


	4. Coffee?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas is dragged to a coffee shop by his friends despite his dislike of coffee. However, he meets a barista named Xion and takes an interest in her. Now he finds himself making excuses to go see her, pretending that he likes coffee. This is based off that one prompt of this character goes to visit another character at a coffee shop, even though they hate coffee. It sort of spiraled out from there.

Three boys were walking on the streets of Twilight Town, or rather two were walking while pulling their third companion. Hayner and Pence were attempting to take Roxas with them, recently their friend Olette got a job at the local coffee shop and were going their there to say hi and congratulate her; the only problem being that Roxas does not like coffee.

“Come on Roxas don’t be such a buzzkill…” said Hayner, he and Pence each had an arm hooked underneath one of Roxas’s trying to drag him along, “…we know you don’t like coffee but you should at least come along.”

“Yeah we made a promise to go and support Olette.” Pence interjected.

“More like you’re looking for an excuse to go see her…” Roxas snapped back at Pence, “…look I’m not saying we don’t go and congratulate her but we can do on it our own free time.”

“Two things: one, this is our free time Roxas and two, that defeats the purpose of a surprise” Pence retorted. Hayner tugged him forward, “You don’t have to order anything but at least be there for moral support besides, maybe you’ll meet a cute barista while we’re there.”

“Unlikely” was Roxas’s unamused response.

Hayner was unfazed, “So you had one bad date, big deal… you just have to get back out on the scene buddy.”

“Come on, just do it for Olette okay, for our friend at least?” Pence asked.

“Okay…fine” Roxas relented with a sigh 

The trio arrived to the coffee shop, it was mostly empty and business seemed to be slow, the three walked up to the counter and then Pence called out, recognizing Olette, “Heya Olette, how’s it going?” at this Olette turned around and with a smile said, “Pence, Hayner…” and when she turned to Roxas she had a confused look on her face, “…and Roxas?”

“Yeah isn’t it great? We managed to drag him out here to come see you, you know group effort and all that.” Said Hayner.

“Aww that’s so sweet of you guys” Olette chuckled 

“Hey now it was Pence’s idea” teased Roxas, Pence immediately looked away in an attempt to hide the red on his face.

“In that case, I’ll help you first” said Olette she then turned and then Roxas caught movement out of the corner of his eye as he saw a hand waving and a voice call out, “I can help you over here sir.”

Roxas turned to acknowledge the voice and say that he didn’t want anything but before he could say anything, he got a good look at her and it was as if time had suddenly slowed down. The barista he noticed was incredibly cute, she looked to be about his age, had short black hair that delicately framed her face, blue eyes that almost seemed to be like crystals to him, and a small smile that nearly took his breath away. In Roxas’s mind he only had one thought, ‘oh no she’s really cute.’

He felt a light shove as he realized that Hayner, ever the opportunist had pushed him forward, ‘Hayner how could you!’ he thought as he was suddenly in front of her, she still had that smile on her face as she asked, “What can I get you?” 

‘she even sounds angelic’ he thought to himself.

Without thinking he blurted out, “Uh coffee…” ‘crap why did I say that?’ he thought 

“What kind?”

He could feel Hayner’s cocky smile peering at him from behind, but he didn’t want to back down and look like a fool in front of this girl that he just met.

“Regular” came his answer, if anything it gave him an excuse to hear her speak more.

“Any sugar, cream, milk…?” she followed up with, taking the time to start writing his order down.

“two packets of sugar, and a little bit of regular cream”

“Okay, and your name?” she asked.

“Huh?”

“Your name, I need to know what to call out when your order is ready.”

“Oh, uh Roxas” he stammered

“Rrroooxxxaaasss…” she sounded out his name as she wrote it down, “that’s a nice name”

“Uh thanks, my parents gave it to me” he stammered, though in his mind he just screamed, ‘DAMMIT!’  
He noticed that however she sweetly giggled, ‘that’s good at least’ he thought to himself.

“Alright Roxas, your order should be ready in a few minutes.”

“Oh okay, thanks”

As she turned away, he turned around to step back from the counter and to look at his friends, Hayner and Pence both had very wide grins and he heard Olette say from behind him, “When did you suddenly start drinking coffee?” she also had a knowing smirk on her face.

“Uh I don’t…” Roxas tried to deflect the conversation but was failing to do so. Hayner cut him off,

“Turns out he likes his coffee black and a little sweet from the looks of it.” He teased.

“Good for you buddy” said Pence flashing him a thumbs up.

“Hey I was pressured to order alright” Roxas protested

“yet you did it anyways”

“but- “

“Hey look man I get it you were distracted by the cute barista, happens to the best of us” Hayner said sympathetically patting him on the back.

“Uh no I wasn’t…” Roxas denied quickly “…maybe…maybe…I just wanted to try something different today.”

“Sure buddy, whatever you say” said Pence.

Before Roxas could retort he heard the barista call out for him, “Roxas, your order is ready!”

He handed her the money, grabbed his drink, and then said his thanks “Thanks uh… I’m sorry what’s your name?”

The barista smiled at him and responded, “Xion” 

“Thank you Xion…” and without thinking he added “…that’s a lovely name.”

and without even a moment of hesitation she responded, “thanks my parents gave it to me.” adding in a playful wink. He felt his heart slightly flutter as he chuckled along with her.

She turned to walk away but not before adding, “I’ll see you around Roxas”

He stood there for a moment contemplating the recent events when Hayner snapped him to by tugging his arm, “Come on Roxas we’re holding up the line.” 

The trio was sitting at one of the nearby tables, Roxas stared at his order wondering what to do next.

“Well aren’t you going to drink up?” asked Pence

“Yeah Roxas, you don’t want to let her hard work go to waste, don’t you?” Hayner teased and then proceeded to take a sip from his drink.

Roxas faced a dilemma, “I never did have a taste for coffee but…”

“But…?”

“But she made it herself and…” he turned the cup around and noticed that when writing his name, she replaced the ‘o’ in his name with a little heart “…I think she made it special for me.”

“Now who was it that doubted me when I said that we were going to meet a cute barista while here?” Hayner asked,

“You should totally ask her out.” Said Pence,

“Yeah you’re obviously into her and I think she’s interested as well.” Hayner interjected,

“Oh, come on guys, she’s obviously just being nice.” Roxas said bashfully

“Sure, she made it special just for you and wrote your name with a little heart in it, sure she’s just being nice.” Said Pence

“Well it’s her job to be nice, what did you expect her to do, be rude and throw coffee at me?” said Roxas skeptically.

“Hey we’re just saying to give it a shot, seize the day and all that?”

“I’ll think about it.” Roxas answered and then proceeded to sip his coffee, he doesn’t hate coffee but he’s never been fond of the taste, ‘she can make a good cup of coffee, though now that I think about it, I think I’ve seen her somewhere before.’ he thought to himself.

Truth be told, he couldn’t get her off his mind, unfortunately he found himself thinking of her after his visit. He had to see her again, at least to fulfill his curiosity and interest in her, but that means he’d have to get more coffee.  
It was still the weekend and he went back at the same time as last time and sure enough there she was and so was Olette who again had a knowing smirk on her face as she stepped aside, and tapped Xion on the shoulder. Xion saw Roxas and smiled as he stepped up to the counter. 

“Hey Roxas, welcome back, how are you today?”

He nervously answered, “Uh, pretty good, no complaints, how about you?”

“Same here” she answered “So anyways, you want the same thing as yesterday?”

“Oh, you remember?” Roxas was surprised

“Yep, want it?”

“Uh, sure” Roxas answered without thinking, ‘why do I keep doing that?’ he thought to himself 

A few minutes later he had his coffee and was sitting alone, while he took little sips he thought about her some more, ‘I wonder where I know her from, from school maybe?’ it wasn’t that strange to assume, after all he assumed, they were about the same age. But he could’ve sworn there was someplace else he knows her from.

He took occasional glances at her while she was talking to Olette; he was looking at his phone, partly hoping that it would trigger a memory and the other part wanting to stare at her slightly. ‘I’m hopeless’ he thought to himself, he had only spoken to her for maybe a few minutes and yet here he was drinking a drink he isn’t fond of just in the hopes of speaking to her again.

While he was internally monologuing, he hadn’t noticed that she sat down in the seat opposite from him.

When he noticed he was shocked, “Ack!” he quickly exclaimed, Xion immediately had an apologetic look on her face, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to surprise you!”

“No, it’s fine” Roxas reassured her “I just didn’t notice that’s all… not to be rude but aren’t you working right now?”

“Oh, it’s usually slow around this time and Olette agreed to cover for me so I decided to go on break.”

“Makes sense…”

“So… how’s the coffee?”

“Oh, uh it’s good…” Roxas then took a sip for emphasis in an attempt to convince her that he likes coffee, she seemed to buy it. 

An awkward silence seemed to build between the two before Xion spoke up, “Hey Roxas do you mind if I ask you something?”

Roxas was curious, “sure…”

Xion paused for a moment before asking, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

Roxas was taken aback, “You know I was actually thinking the same thing…I can’t quite the shake the feeling that I’ve seen you somewhere else.”

“Well I mean we both probably go to the same school, right; maybe we’ve passed each other in the halls?” Xion suggested 

Roxas shook his head, “No I mean like I’ve seen you somewhere else…”

Xion rested her hand under her chin in contemplation before she had an idea, “Where do you work?”

“Hmm, uh at the ice cream place down the road from here.” Roxas answered,

Xion suddenly slapped her hand on the table, startling Roxas, with a realization, “That’s where I know you from!”

It suddenly dawned on him where he knew her from, “You’re the girl who really likes Sea-Salt ice cream.”

“Yeah it’s my favorite!”

“Mine too!” It dawned on the both of them how excited they were getting and quickly calmed down.

“I guess it makes sense why I didn’t recognize you at first, I’m so used to seeing that ‘WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM’ shirt on you.” Xion chuckled lightly.

“Yeah…but now I feel bad” said Roxas sullenly

“Hm, why’s that?”

“You’re one of my favorite regulars at the shop.” Roxas blurted out

“Really?” Xion had a slight blush on her face

“Yeah you’re one of the nicer customers and you always clean up a mess if you see it, even though you don’t have to.”

“Well I mean it bothers me whenever I see someone make a big mess and not clean up after themselves so I take it upon myself to clean up a mess if I see it.”

‘She really is an angel’ he thought to himself, though before he could respond, she continued,

“Don’t feel bad you probably see lots of customers every day…”

“But you remembered me…” Roxas interrupted

“Well it helps that you’re one of Olette’s friends” Xion said sheepishly

“Fair enough” Roxas shrugged

The two stared at each other, smiling but before someone could say something there was a beeping as Xion reached into her pocket and checked her phone and groaned.

“What’s wrong?” asked Roxas

“It’s an alarm I set for my break, sorry I got to get back to work.” Xion said apologetically

“Don’t worry about it” Roxas reassured her

“See you around Roxas”

“Yeah I’ll see you at the ice cream place”

Xion giggled and smiled “You will.”

He stared off almost trance like as he watched her leave, he noticed that his coffee had gone cold, ‘ah well’ he thought to himself as he got up to leave.

As the week went on, he got a pleasant surprise as she visited his workplace, and he even noticed her during the school week. The two began to engage in more friendly small talk in the brief intervals whenever they saw each other, Roxas still preferred visiting her at the coffee shop as they had plenty of time to talk to each other. 

The next time he visited her they got to talking about their families,

“So, what’s your home life like?” asked Xion

“Well it’s just me and my brother Lea unfortunately” Roxas looked sad suddenly

Xion had an immediate realization about what he meant, “Oh I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine, I was young when I lost my parents, I didn’t know them too well… me and my brother have gotten along just fine.”

Xion sympathetically slid her hand over his, squeezed, and said, “I know what it’s like, my mother died shortly after I was born, it’s just me and my father Even, though considering how often his apprentice Ienzo is around, he’s the closest thing I have to a brother.”

“Even as in…?” asked Roxas trying to remember where he heard such a name and hoping to move the topic onto something less morbid.

“My father Even is a famous researcher on the topic of human biology, particularly on hearts.” Xion answered

“Ah I see…”

“I do want to become a scientist like him someday”

“You want to be a scientist too?”

“Yeah though, I was more so thinking of working with animals”

“You like animals?”

“I love them, honestly I can’t help myself sometimes when I see a pet” she said sheepishly, she also added, “I like to volunteer down at the shelter at least one a week.”

“I assume you got pets?” Roxas asked

“Yep, two dogs: Jack and Cookie, I love them to pieces, and you?”

“We got a cat though my brother’s boyfriend Isa has a dog.”

“Sounds nice”

“Yeah”

Xion looked at her phone, “Sorry I got to go…”

“It’s fine” Roxas gave her an understanding smile.

She smiled back before going back to the counter.

He sat there for a little while, his heart was rapidly beating, every time he saw her, he found himself falling for her just a little bit more.

The next time he went to the coffee shop, they talked about their hobbies and interests

He mentioned he likes video games and she mentioned that she likes to read though they both seemed to like sports.

“So, you’re into that ‘Struggle’ game, right?”

“Yeah, I like to compete though I hate to admit it but I certainly need to train some more.” The most he could make it to was the quarterfinals.

“Maybe… I can help you out?” Xion suggested

“Do you know how to play the game?”

Xion shrugged, “Not necessarily but maybe I can help to whip you into shape.”

“Got any ideas?”

“Well I can show you some of my exercises, if you want.”

“Such as…” Roxas motioned for her to continue

“Well I like to do some cardio mixed with kickboxing and some jiu-jitsu”

Roxas was impressed, “Really, all three at once?”

“Well not really, the place I go to has alternate days for sessions, one day is cardio and kickboxing, and the other day is for jiu-jitsu, I try to go at least twice a week.”

“You must have a busy schedule, what with that, school, work, and your volunteer work; do you actually have any free time?”

Xion sighed, “Well when you have the ‘famous’ Even as your father you learn to micromanage your time efficiently” she flexed her fingers at the word famous.

Roxas leaned back, “Honestly I’m kind of jealous you make me look like a lazy slob in comparison.”

Xion rolled her eyes, “Don’t be, I’m looking forward to the summer so I can be lazy even just for a little bit.”

Roxas gave her a small smile, “Now that sounds like an idea”

“Yeah…” Xion trailed off

They both just stared at each other, a small smile and a slightly dreamy look on each other’s faces, though their mutual reverie was broken by Xion’s alarm going off. With a frustrated sigh she got up to go back to work but not before she had an idea.

“Before I go, here” she took out a pen and grabbed a slip of paper from the pocket of her apron and quickly wrote something down.

“Hmm?” Roxas looked at the paper

“It’s my phone number, you know so we can talk outside of work, if you want to that is.” There was a nervous twinge of her voice as she gave him her number.

Roxas was nearly breathless, “Oh uh, thank you…”

“You’re welcome…” Before she left, she added, “…be sure to text me so I can register your number.”

“Right…right…of course” he was trying to remain calm even though he was internally screaming

When he texted her later that night, she confirmed that she got his text and then asked him if he wanted to hang out with her.

He nervously texted ‘Yes’

The response was ‘Great’ then followed by a heart emoji, the text also said ‘meet me by the plaza.’ He had a gigantic smile on his face and he felt his race, it almost felt like a jackhammer was going off inside of him. His brother Lea noticed the wide smile on his face and was simply curious, 

“Talking to your girlfriend Roxas?”

Roxas stammered, “Yes-uh I mean she’s not my girlfriend.”

“So, you’re not denying that you’re talking her.” Lea teased him, Roxas remained silent

“Hey I’m just teasing you, it’s good to see you getting out there, so I got to ask what’s she like?” 

“Well she’s really smart, attentive, is pretty funny, really pretty, and just an overall sweetheart.”

“Didn’t you say that you met her at a coffee shop?” Lea inquired

“Yeah…”

It then dawned on Lea, “Is that why you’ve been trying to drinking coffee so much lately?”

Roxas looked embarrassed, “Yes…” it had become a habit for him to try and drink coffee in the morning hoping to become more used to the taste.

“Any reason why?” Lea asked

“Whenever I come in, she makes my order special for me and I don’t want to hurt her feelings by saying no.”

Lea couldn’t help but laugh at this explanation before telling him his thoughts, “Look, I’m not going to claim to be an expert in women, but I’m pretty sure that most women are not going to care if you want something different, especially if she’s as nice as you claim.” He paused, “or…”

“Or?” 

“You can just tell her the truth, sure it may be embarrassing but hey maybe it will endear you to her, in my experience it’s worked with Isa.”

Roxas considered what he said, “I’ll think about it…”

The first time they got together it was a simple affair with the two of them just hanging out and walking around town, they got ice cream together. The event had a casual air to it as the two just talked about their week, school, and just anything in general. By the time Roxas got back home he realized just how long he was out with her, he didn’t regret it though.

The two were constantly talking to each other on the phone, these texting sessions would also be mutual venting sessions about anything bothering them. It felt relaxing for the both of them to just let it out. One of the more surprising things that Xion told him was how much she confided in him, she doesn’t often get to vent and she finds that being around him, she feels so relaxed that she can just be herself with him. 

Their hangout sessions were frequent as the two could plan around each other’s schedules, though he still liked surprising her at work whenever he could and she did the same. At some point she asked him if he would be willing to meet her at the edge of the forest the following day, which he agreed to do, she also added to make sure that he was wearing exercise clothes.

When he met up with her, she was stretching and explained that she was going to help him get into shape for his next struggle competition. He was taken aback but he agreed nonetheless. After a few minutes of stretches and an explanation of what they were going to do, they began. After about half an hour later he was breathing heavily trying to steady himself while she looked no worse for wear.

“How…how are you…?” Roxas panted

“Plenty of practice, honestly when I first started, I was honestly worse off then you are right now.” Xion was also lightly panting

“And what is the purpose of this again?”

“To make you faster and stronger…” said Xion, the two were now sitting against a tree.

“and the little bit of jiu-jitsu…?”

“to make you better at using your weight with your blows…”

“Huh?”

“I noticed with your blows you throw yourself too much into them, it throws you off balance and that will let your opponent smack more of the balls off your vest”

Roxas understood what she meant “Ah, I get it…I got to ask though do you want to know how to properly play struggle?”

“A little…” Xion admitted

“I can show you if you want, you know” Roxas offered

“That sounds great…” said Xion

“Cool I just need a few minutes…”

“Of course, take all the time you need.”

When they were ready, they met in the square, there were practice vests and bats for anyone who wanted to practice in the days leading up to the competition.

Roxas inspected the foam bat, “You know these ones are decent but they’re nothing compared to my own personal bats.”

“Oh really?” Xion smirked

“Yeah, my bats are custom designed, the white one I call Oathkeeper and I named the black one Oblivion.”

Xion was attempting to hold back her laughter, “You named your bats?”

Roxas was confident, “Of course”

“Why?”

“A name gives a weapon power, invokes a feeling, and makes it have a purpose.”

“It makes you a dork is what it does” Xion teased

“Hey” Roxas pretended to be offended.

One of the things that impressed Roxas was how quickly she took to the game, ‘good thing she has no interest in competing, I’d have no chance otherwise’ he thought to himself.

“Well look what we have here…” came a voice off from the side

Much to Roxas’s chagrin it was Seifer, his biggest rival in struggle and the guy who he finds the most annoying overall.

“What do you want?” was Roxas’s annoyed response

“What, not strong enough on your own, you need your girlfriend to train you?”

“Why don’t you just back off Seifer” Roxas was doing his best to ignore him, he noticed that Xion had an annoyed look on her face as well.

“Whatever, hey why don’t you drop that lamer and get with an actual champ?” Seifer asked Xion

Roxas noticed that she stiffened, he was actually angry now as well, ‘how dare he…’ was the thought in his mind. But before he could do anything she spoke up.

“I’ll pass, I have standards…” Xion dismissively said towards him

Seifer did his best to hide his wounded pride, “Whatever your loss, see what I care, you’ll still get demolished at the next struggle tournament.”

As he left, Xion looked a Roxas she had a noticeable fire in her eyes, “That’s your rival, the guy who keeps beating you?”

“Yep” Roxas said honestly

“Then we need to whip you into shape, so you can crush him” He liked seeing this fierceness when he’s mostly just seen her happy.

The next few weeks were a grueling series of exercises for the two though they still found some free time for each other, during this time he showed her the secret place where he and his friends liked to hang out, she liked the area. His friends readily accepted her, though there was some slight teasing from Hayner but he shrugged it off, he couldn’t deny how he felt about her. She soon after returned the favor by showing him her favorite spot, namely the clock town by the train station, she showed him the spot where she liked to sit when she needed to be alone for a little while. All the while he still visited her at that coffee shop, to his credit he began to slightly like coffee, maybe it was because she made it?

When the tournament came around, he was surprised by his results, for once he won. He regretfully beat Hayner and then when it came to the finals, it was a decisive and grueling battle but he won. Xion’s training and his practice gave him the edge he needed, Seifer’s shocked expression was one of the most satisfying things he’s ever seen, perhaps second only to Xion’s smile.

At the ceremony he was given a fancy trophy but perhaps the thing that made him even happier was Xion’s surprise hug, he enthusiastically returned it, caught up in the moment. She was in the crowd cheering him on the whole time, perhaps that gave him the motivation he needed?

‘Alright’ he thought to himself ‘I have to tell her…I have to tell her how I feel.’ It took him a good while to mentally psyche himself up but he knew that the next time he met her on the clock tower he would tell her, for better or for worse.

He approached the landing of the clock tower, ice cream in hand, he had it all planned out, hand her the ice cream, laugh a little and then smoothly tell her how he felt, and then hopefully she agreed to go out with him.

He approached her and she got up to greet him, “Hey there champ” she said taking her ice cream and then throwing his whole carefully laid out plan into chaos by leaning and kissing him on the cheek.

Roxas nearly dropped his ice cream, “Whuh?!?!” he sputtered

Xion look confused “What’s wrong?”

“W-why’d you kiss me?” Roxas asked as he didn’t understand her confusion

“Well I mean we’ve been going out for a while, so I’d figure that I’d try kissing you…unless…unless” She quickly began to panic as a look of horror dawned on her face, “Oh no oh no… I’m so sorry I’ll go.” Xion turned to leave as she felt embarrassed. Roxas knew he had to act quickly or else he won’t see her for a long while.

In an act of pure impulsiveness, he quickly grabbed her arm, spun her around and before she could say anything, he pressed his lips to her in a kiss. When he pulled back, the two just stared at each other for a couple of seconds before he blurted out “I love you”

They both started laughing like maniacs as they embraced each other, “That’s a relief” Xion said happily.

“This was not what I had planned for this moment, by the way” Roxas said

“What did you have planned?” Xion inquired

“I had this whole speech planned out about how important you are to me, what you mean to me and I was going to have this sappy confession but I guess the cat’s out of the bag now huh?”

Xion giggled “I guess it is, though now I’m curious, what were you going to say”

“Huh?”

“What were you going to say?”

“Oh um, Xion these past few weeks have meant a lot to me, ever since I met you, I’ve been amazed by you. Even though we’ve known each other for a short while I feel like we’ve been friends for a lifetime, you’ve helped me out and you inspire me. I know it’s cliché but I think that from I met you, I was in love with you.”

She was touched, “That’s very sweet of you, I must confess that I feel the same, these past few weeks, I’ve been swamped with so much and then you came along. Truth be told Olette told me about you shortly before we met, hence why I was so curious about you.”

“That makes sense”

Xion continued “It made me happy when I saw that you were just like she said, I thought that maybe we could at least be friends. But I guess you charmed from the beginning and just like you I guess I just quickly fell in love, so yes I love you too Roxas.”

“That’s good to hear, though now I’M curious” Roxas said a teasing smile growing on his face.

“Curious about what?”

“Why did you think we were a couple?”

“Honestly, we just spent so much time together and bonded so much that I figured that we just became a thing without saying anything. When Seifer was making fun of you, you didn’t deny what he said about me being your girlfriend so I just assumed we were a couple, hence why I kissed you on the cheek.”

“You know what I don’t blame you my friends keep telling me that we make a good couple” Roxas admitted

“You have some smart friends”

“So, do you want to go on an actual date?”

“An actual date, like as a couple?”

“Of course, you got any suggestions?”

“Would you prefer a coffee date or an ice cream date?” asked Xion

“That’s another thing I need to tell you” Lea’s advice was ringing in his head

“Tell me what?”

Roxas awkwardly scratched the back of his head before beginning, “Well… the truth is I don’t like coffee, like at all.”

“What.” Came Xion’s flat response

“I was only in that coffee place because my friends dragged me there, it’s honestly a bit of an inside joke between the four of us about how I don’t like coffee.”

Xion was now more confused than curious, “Then why did you order?”

Roxas took a deep breath before admitting, “Would you believe me if I told you that I was distracted by a really cute barista.”

“Maybe…” she had an amused smile “…though you know, you could’ve ordered something else right? We don’t only just have coffee we have tea.”

“You always made my order special for me; I didn’t want to offend you.”

Xion couldn’t hide her chuckling, “You’re sweet but your taste comes first you should have spoke up.” She also had a realization, “Wait why didn’t Olette or any of your friends for that matter tell me anything? Now I actually feel stupid.”

Roxas shrugged, “I guess they thought it was funny?”

She groaned, “Look next time you come in, tell me what you actually want, and I’ll actually make it special for you okay?”

“Okay.”

“I have to go now” Xion had a sad look on her face

“Why?”

“To get ready for our date tomorrow, does an ice cream date sound good?” Xion’s expression quickly changed.

“Yeah, that’s sound good” said Roxas as he noticed that their ice cream was on the floor, his impulsive decision resulted in them dropping their ice cream.

“and then we’ll have an actual kiss and be a real couple.”  
“What that doesn’t count?”

“I want our first kiss to be romantic.” Xion told him.

“Hey that was a perfectly romantic kiss” countered Roxas.

“Then I guess you’ll have to outdo yourself tomorrow” she playfully taunted him.

“Maybe I will” he declared

“See you tomorrow” she waved before she turned to leave the clock tower though not before picking up both ice creams to dispose of them.

Roxas was just alone with his thoughts still not fully understanding what just happened but happy nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I did not plan on this chapter being posted on both the 10 year anniversary of KH 358/2 Days but also on International Coffee Day, honestly I'm not even sure what make of that coincidence.


	5. Vampires

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roxas and Xion go to a Halloween party and end up accidentally wearing the same kind of costume, shenanigans ensue. On an additional note try and count how many vampire things I try to refer to. Also assume for the purposes of this story, that they aren't dating yet.

One of the things that the former nobodies had to learn about were holidays. Granted the two had some semblance about what Halloween was due to their missions in Halloween Town but they didn’t fully know what the holiday was about. Given how joyful the people of that world seemed to be about the holiday, especially that skeleton fellow, he was curious. He had several memories about that world most of them odd and/or slightly annoying; one experience Roxas remembered was when he got pelted by an explosive pumpkin. He would later learn that during Halloween it is common to carve out pumpkins called Jack-o-Lanterns. The second thing he learned was that it is in fact not common for people to put explosives into pumpkins, much to his relief. 

Another memory he had was when he saw a makeshift figure that slightly resembled him, it had makeshift copies of his coat and hair albeit with tentacles sticking out of the sleeves, he later learned that the figure he saw was referred to as a ‘scarecrow’ though he didn’t find it really scary. Though some of his memories were more painful, as that world was where he and Xion were nearly tricked into destroying one another, it was the moment that caused her to truly flee the organization and it eventually led to that tragic fight at the clocktower. However, he wanted to move on, and he and Xion were legitimately curious about the holiday and so they wanted to get into the festivities.

He learned that one custom during Halloween is to go around and knock on people’s doors and ask for candy. The two were excited but then were quickly disappointed as they learned that they were considered to be too old (or at least looked to old) to go trick or treating but Lea promised to make it up to them by getting them plenty of candy to gorge on which raised their hopes. What then followed was a very heated debate between Lea and Isa over how much candy to get. Lea wanted to spoil them rotten but Isa was insistent on not going overboard as they now had to actually worry about how much sugar they can have (shortly after gaining his replica body he learned what the term ‘nutrition’ truly meant) the two adults ended up compromising however. The next thing the two did was that they had to decide on costumes, as Lea explained that it’s another custom for people to dress up in costumes during Halloween, he essentially boiled it down to making yourself look like one of the people in Halloween town. 

It took him a while to figure out what he wanted to be but eventually he settled on being a vampire. During the days leading up to Halloween he got to watch a few movies and he found himself liking the vampire ones the most. Lea approved of his decision and helped him go shopping, Roxas remembered settling on a costume that he liked the look of though he added a detail or two to spice it up. He noticed that sometimes vampires have red eyes so he asked around and got some fake contact lenses, he also acquired some fake nails so that he could use them as makeshift claws, he also got himself a pair of black boots, and some fake ears to give them a pointier look. The costume itself was a standard costume; it had a black cape with a red underside, it came with a collared red shirt, and black pants. He also got a vest with a black and white pattern to it (his preferred style when it came to outfit colors). The costume also obviously had vampiric looking fangs. He had no idea what Xion was going as but he was sure that she’d look nice, he’d find out at the party that they were all going to.

At the moment it was just Lea, Isa, and Roxas as they were waiting for everyone else to arrive. Lea had chosen to go as a samurai complete with a red and black outfit, and Isa was borderline forced to be a werewolf despite his protests, though he chose to do it on his own terms, choosing to wear tattered clothes and adding smudges and red smears to imply dirt and blood marks while also having fangs thus giving him something of a feral look.

Roxas sat on one of the nearby chairs he had a cup of fruit punch and was attempting to manage a noble demeanor. He’s trying to mimic the vampires he’s seen in movies and from what he has read about vampires and what’s he looked up on his phone. Lea seemed to be very supportive of what Roxas is trying to do and the advice that Lea gave him was to be dramatic. Roxas took this to mean try to be as over dramatic as possible because that’s what he’s seen several vampires do; try to act noble and monologue about the nature of darkness, men, and beasts. He’s had plenty of experience witnessing people monologue about darkness, but he thought for a couple of days what an arrogant vampire might talk about. All in all, he was excited for the evening as he thinks that he’ll be entertaining enough, secretly though there was a part of him that was hoping that Xion in particular would be amused or even impressed by his antics. He finds it strange but lately he’s been wanting to make her smile more and more lately and he hopes that this will do it. He asked Lea about these newer feelings and he said not to worry about it, though he was still nervous.

Lea watched the boy nervously sipping his drink and was trying to contain a grin. When Roxas came up to him and told him what he wanted to be he was supportive about it, but what he didn’t expect was that Xion was thinking about doing the same thing, evidently those two always seem to be on the same wavelength with their thoughts. She came up to him all giddy with her idea and how she wanted to surprise him with her own brand of theatrics, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that Roxas was planning to do the same thing. ‘Besides…’ he thought, ‘it’s not like there’s a rule saying that you can’t be the same thing on Halloween, knowing the two of them they’d probably just go as the same thing regardless.’ Interestingly enough she chose to make her own costume, repurposing her old organization outfit for most of it while getting any necessary new clothes that she needed while also asking Olette for help. To make things more entertaining he told her the same thing that he told Roxas which was to be as dramatic as possible in her antics. He knew that she would be arriving soon and that the night would soon get more entertaining.

Sure enough, she arrived with Roxas’s other friends and when the two locked eyes they took a few seconds to process what was going on and then they both flashed toothy grins before getting into character. 

Roxas took a moment to process what everyone was dressed up as he noticed that Pence was dressed as a mummy, Hayner seemed to be a zombie, Olette was dressed up as the grim reaper he thinks, but Xion was the one that caught his eye. He noticed that her old organization outfit was repurposed for her costume which was a vampire…just like him. In place of a cape she was using her coat, she was wearing a white blouse along with a black…corset? He thinks it’s a corset. He also caught that she seemed to be wearing gauntlets, her outfit giving off a vibe of a traveler that sticks to the shadows. Her outfit was also complemented by teeth like his, make up to give her paler skin and redder lips, as well as what he thinks is a wig of black hair or maybe its hair extensions. The point being that she looks the part of a vampire, and in that moment, he realized why people found vampires attractive as he certainly thought that she was very pretty. But still he needed to play his part and not be distracted. He remembered Lea’s advice of being dramatic and he thought about casually tossing his cup to the ground but decided against it as that would’ve made a mess that Isa would make him clean up plus it would've been rude. So, he settled for setting his glass to the side and stood up making it a point to flap his cape to the side as he made his way over to her doing his best to fight his growing grin and nervousness, for what it’s worth he saw that she was fighting back her own grin attempting to maintain a cocky smirk. Their friends took a step back giving the two space, everyone knew a show was about to begin and wanted to see what was going to happen.

“Well…well…look what we have here…” Xion attempted to do an accent of some sort that Roxas couldn’t quite place though it was a low tone.

He attempted to put on a boisterous tone as he said, “Well met my fellow creature of the night.”

He then put his hand to his ear, “Ahh… listen to the sounds that the creatures of the night make.”  
Truth be told he has no clue what is playing but he needed to be convincing and be ‘dramatic’ as he was told. He could see her partially holding back what he thinks is a chuckle as she responds with an undeniable hint of amusement.

“I see you’re all dressed up for the occasion.” She was looking him up and down with a hand on her chin and a smirk on her face.”

“Of course, I would as it is befitting of a noble vampire lord such as myself.”

“A noble? Ha…ha…” she had a false laugh “With the way your dressed I’m surprised you haven’t broken the masquerade with your demeanor.”

“My dear Xion…” he noticed that she blushed at that one albeit a faint one “…I am the masquerade!” He flapped his cape again for dramatic effect before continuing “When I travel and I host a court people flock to me, I am called by HUMANS who wish to pay ME tribute.”

Xion made an effort of rolling her eyes and even huffing a bit before retorting “Tribute…? Don’t you steal souls and make them your slaves?”

Roxas waved a hand dismissively at her, “Oh please like you don’t do the same.”

She smiled, flashing her fangs while doing so, “Hmm… true… but I don’t make a big spectacle of it and draw unnecessary attention to myself.” Before he could respond she continued, “You strike me as the one vampire prince who is considered crazier than the others and often abstains from meetings of the vampire court while also trying to build up a resistance to the sun.”

“We are kin of the night we have a standard to uphold, a majesty and almost noble splendor to show off for we are the masters of this world and should act like it and for the record trying to conquer our weakness to the sun is a worthy cause as that bright accursed star is forbidden to beings such as us.”

Xion was barely holding it together but still she pressed on, “Oh but you are mistaken my sweet Count…” now it was his turn to blush “…I do maintain some nobility but I make it more subtle for it is our nature to slink in the dark where we are unnoticed by most and pull the strings of all operations, to strike where we are least expected.”

Roxas was impressed, she obviously put a lot of time and effort into her work, although he didn’t want to be seen as lacking in comparison. “Would you care to join me?” Roxas 

“Hmm?” Xion was now confused

“Come join me on the dance floor, for the night is still young.”

Now it was her turn to be nervous as she had no clue how to dance but she didn’t want to disappoint, “If you insist… lead the way.”

Over on the side everyone, even Isa were fighting to keep it together and not burst out laughing, though Isa shot Lea an accusatory glance. “What did you tell them to do?”

Lea while taking deep breathes and trying not to laugh explained, “I only told them to be over dramatic I didn’t tell them anything else.”

Pence amusingly said, “They are really committed, aren’t they?”

“Yeah they are” Hayner agreed

“I know Xion was super excited to do this costume but I didn’t realize Roxas was also planning something.” Commented Olette.

The group looked out as they saw the two ‘vampires’ in a standard ballroom dance pose but it was evident that the two did not know how to dance as they were simply just slowly spinning around in a circle without any rhythm what so ever to the music, no one had any idea if the two were aware but no one wanted to break their concentration they were having too much fun just observing them.

Xion was very nervous, however the thing that stopped her from breaking character was that she could see that Roxas was also very nervous yet here he was putting on a show for her, if he was going to be committed then she would be just as dedicated, she doesn’t want to disappoint him. She did find it harder to keep up her act though, the sort of research she did lead her to see vampires as more striking from the shadows, mysterious, and ‘tempting’ she thinks the word is, but she doesn’t quite fully understand the term she figures that she just needs to speak in a low husky tone. She did have to admit, Roxas makes for a pretty handsome vampire, but then again, she’s been finding him pretty handsome recently, she doesn’t know why she suddenly feels different about him but she likes it.

“I’m impressed that you are so bold Count” 

“Honestly I could say the same, I thought you were going to abscond away, back into the shadows.” Roxas responded

Xion pretended to be offended by his words, “You wound me so…I am no stranger to being close to my prey, the closer I am the more I can draw them into my embrace.”  
“And how do you know that this isn’t just a ploy to make you into one of my thralls?” Roxas questioned

She scoffed at that one, “Oh please, you should count yourself lucky that I am not one of those vampires that feeds on your emotions, though I wonder why the act?”

“Hmm?” now it was Roxas’s turn to be confused, as she stepped forward and he stepped in turn. 

“You put up such a noble act and yet I can see the beast that lurks within, behind those handsome features I see a monster just ready to succumb to the red thirst, and yet…”

“Yet?”

“Yet you persist with the act and I have to ask why; wouldn’t it be better to just give in, indulge yourself?”

Roxas smiled a small smile as he paused for a moment to consider his answer. “Because we are not just mindless beasts who wantonly take, we remain hidden in the shadows and stay in the shadows because we know our limits we are not controlled by our thirst and our hunger. We wait for the opportune moment to strike. We still have a code, a code that separates us from mere beasts and elevates beyond the ken on mere mortals…, he paused for a few seconds for the sake of drama, …hence why I play the part of a noble. Even you have your own code do you not? You’re not just one of those savage vampires who simply just wantonly kill whenever and insist on rigid tradition you make an attempt to blend in amongst normal people.”

She was impressed, she wonders how long it took him to rehearse that part. “You have a point; besides it is more fun and beneficial to blend into a crowd and it would be such a waste to have your handsome features wasted on a beast even if you look slightly better than Nos…Nosfe…” She was trying to remember the name of that one vampire but suddenly Roxas leaned in and whispered “Nosferatu”

“Thank you” was her quick response

“Even if you look slightly better than Nosferatu” she restated with more confidence. She could see him smiling while baring his fangs and she returned the same glance.

“You have a purpose you know-” Xion continued “Oh do tell” Roxas interrupted, “You have a commanding presence when you walk in you call everyone’s attention for better or worse. Your presence announces your standing, your power, let’s your enemies know that you are here and that you are coming for them, and like I said you command everyone’s attention.” ‘especially mine’ she mentally added to herself.

Roxas took a moment before responding, “and you are the shadow that creeps down everyone’s backs, no one is safe when your near. You are terrifying to your foes for you are the danger they do not know of. After all your beauty can ensnare many a target and they don’t realize the threat that you are until it is too late and they are ready to crack.” ‘are you ready to crack Roxas?’ she wondered though she did wonder if he truly found her beautiful and it wasn’t just for show. It was obvious that the two were intently staring at each other for the past few minutes yet they had no idea how much of it was genuine. They stared at each other for a few seconds wondering what the other one was going to do. ‘I could kiss him’ she thought, ‘would he even stop me?’ before she could try anything however their mutual reverie was broken by the sound of a slow clap as they suddenly remembered that all of their friends were watching as now the sound of cheers and laughter rang out. Xion could not hide the red on her face and turned away using Roxas’s cape to cover her face as they both nervously shuffled in place.

“Come on don’t be embarrassed, looks like the two of you have a future in show biz.” Lea flashed the two a thumbs up. 

“Heh that was pretty convincing huh?” asked Roxas as he realized that he and Xion were still incredibly close to each other and holding each other. They both quickly moved away from each other, blushes evident and trying not to look at each other.

“Aww what’s the matter, are the big bad vampires afraid of being close to each other?” Olette teased.

“Uhh, I’ll accidentally suck out his life force if we’re too close to each other.” Xion blurted out 

“Yeah what she said” Said Roxas

From the looks that the Hayner, Pence, and Olette were giving the pair, they weren’t buying it but before the issue could be pressed further Isa spoke up.

“I have to wonder though, what compelled you to both choose the same thing?” before an answer could be given, the door opened up as Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé had arrived. Riku appeared to be a devil of some kind, Kairi seemed to be dressed up as a witch, Naminé had chosen to keep things simple and went as a ghost, but Sora was the interesting one. Roxas remembered the outfit from some of his memories but the interesting part was fangs almost like a vampire’s.

‘So that’s where they got their inspiration from’ thought Lea, ‘well as they say the night is still young.’ Things were still going to be even more interesting he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter I hoped you enjoyed it, and of course Happy Halloween.


	6. Age and Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Axel and Roxas are waiting for Xion after a mission, Roxas asks a question which then leads into an interesting discussion. Axel tries to tread carefully about certain subjects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a shorter chapter for this month, just an amusing suggestion I got from a previous comment a while back.

“Hey Axel, what’s a ‘babysitter’?”

“Huh?” Axel turned to face his friend.

“What’s a ‘babysitter’?” Roxas repeated the question.

This was a common habit between the group of friends, Roxas or Xion would learn about something and would ask Axel for clarification, he never minded.

“A babysitter?”

“Yeah, Xigbar called you one.”

Axel groaned at that one, “Of course he did…”

Roxas continued, “Earlier today I was looking for you so that we could go off on our mission together. I asked Xigbar about where you were and he said that he hadn’t seen as he said, “your babysitter.” When I asked him what he meant by that he just laughed at me and said “as if…”

“That sounds about right.” Axel groaned again ‘Dammit Xigbar’ though he couldn’t quite deny it. When Roxas first joined the Organization, he was not unlike a zombie, it wasn’t his choice to be the one to look after the kid yet he was assigned the task all the same. He doesn’t regret it though, after all Roxas quickly grew on him and the two became fast friends and then shortly after he came back from Castle Oblivion, he saw that Roxas quickly bonded with the other new recruit Xion. After that she came to see him as a friend as well and he quickly bonded with her as well, he wouldn’t change any of it. Although he’s sometimes forced to more or less be the closest thing these two have to a parental figure or older brother, which includes answering basically any question they have the best that he can.

“Well Roxas a babysitter is someone who takes care of another person, usually a person who is much younger, essentially Xigbar was making fun of me and you as well, got it memorized?” 

“Oh.” Roxas said flatly, “He really isn’t nice, is he?” he asked. 

“Yep” Axel said, with an equally flat tone, though Axel could tell from the look on Roxas’s face that he now had a few more questions. ‘Well if nothing else this will be a good way to pass the time.’ Normally they would be on the clock tower by now having their ice cream but Roxas seemed to be insisting on waiting for Xion to arrive before going, when pressed about it Roxas would just nervously say that they should go as a group, even though Axel knows that he’s just looking for an excuse to spend more time with her. ‘honestly it’s so obvious, it’s almost painful’ he thought to himself suppressing a knowing smirk. ‘Neither of them seems to be aware of the fact that she unintentionally has him wrapped around her finger. She says jump he asks how high’

“So, what’s a baby?” asked Roxas. 

Axel knew he had to tread carefully around this topic after all, for how smart Roxas and Xion can be, they are still rather naïve, impressionable, and curious.

“Well a baby is more or less a younger person and a lot smaller…” he noticed that from their spot away from the crowd, that a young couple was sitting on a nearby bench with a baby in their arms ‘perfect’ he thought to himself. He motioned towards the couple drawing Roxas’s attention to the small bundle in the woman’s arms.

“Oh okay, why is the baby so small?” Roxas asked

Axel cleared his throat, “Because babies are small when they are born and are small for a long time while they are young.”

“Born?”

“Yeah you know like when us nobodies are made; regular people are born as babies and then grow up as they get older.”

Roxas thought for a second before asking, “Wait so would that make me a baby? I mean I haven’t been around for a long time and Xigbar was making fun of the two of us.”

Now Axel was confused, “I mean if we’re being technical then yes, both you and Xion for that matter would technically be considered babies because of how old the two of you are. However, the two of you are more similar to what are known as teenagers.” Axel thought for a moment “To be honest, I don’t think your exact age fully matters as the two of you aren’t even 1 year old yet you’re pretty similar to a 15 or 16-year-old kid which is pretty close to being an adult.” ‘though you may as well be babies in some aspects’ Axel mentally added

“So how old are you then, Axel, were you a baby as well at some point?”

Axel was always a bit hesitant when it came to talking about his past but truth be told, he wasn’t quite sure what to tell him. After all he wasn’t quite sure if he even aged as a nobody and frankly, he was not in the mood for any existential questions like that, he hears enough tangents about their non existence as nobodies from Xemnas as it is. 

“Well to answer your questions my age is considered to be in the twenties, and yes I was a baby at some point, all people are babies at some point.”

Roxas was satisfied but he still had another question on his mind, “Are babies made like how a nobody is made?”

Axel sucked in a breath, dreading this question, “Not exactly” If there were ever a time where he regrets setting Vexen on fire, this was the time. ‘Granted knowing how Vexen was, any explanation he’d give would fly right over their heads and they’d probably end up asking me anyways for a simpler explanation, I'd do my best to simplify it, I’d probably say my catchphrase afterwards, call it a day, and we get ice cream.’ Still he’d have to tread carefully as after all the last thing he needs to do is give them any ideas, after all they are impressionable.

Roxas had his hand to his chin in contemplation, “Is it something that a man and woman make?”  
‘Crap this kid is sharp’ Axel began to panic, he was not ready to explain the concept of sex to Roxas and inevitably also have to explain it to Xion as well, ‘they barely know anything about being a regular person.’

“I’m not answering that.” Axel said plainly

“Huh why not?” Roxas asked disappointed

“You’re not old enough” Axel said quickly

Roxas looked even more confused now, “But I thought you said that due to how us nobodies are created, that our age doesn’t quite fully matter and that I’m close enough to being an adult.”

‘Dammit he’s got me there.’ Axel mentally winced but before he could attempt to dig himself out of the hole, he just made for himself he heard a voice call out.

“Hey guys!” they both turned to the sound to see Xion walking up to them. “What are you talking about?”

Roxas completely distracted from his question turned excitedly towards her, “We were just talking about what babies are.”

Sure, enough Xion was just as curious as he was, “What’s a baby?” 

After Roxas got done with his explanation, she smiled, “That sounds cute”

Roxas agreed though he leaned in to whisper, “Axel won’t tell me but I think it’s something that a man and woman can make.”

To Axel’s horror, the next words he heard her say were, “Can we make a baby Roxas?”

He had to avert this disaster and fast, “Hey don’t you think it’s time to go get some Sea-Salt Ice Cream?” he saw their faces light up at the mention of ice cream, completely forgetting what they were just talking about, ‘they really are babies’ he thought to himself.

“Oh yeah, I was wondering why you two hadn’t gotten ice cream yet”

Axel decided to have some fun, after all if Roxas was going to make him squirm he’d return the favor. Patting Roxas on the back he slyly told her, “It was Roxas’s idea he INSISTED on waiting for you.”

He got the reaction he wanted as he saw Roxas nervously shuffle in place, obviously not sure how to deal with what he’s feeling.

“Aww that’s so sweet of you Roxas” she said with a smile.

“Oh, you know it’s nothing…” he said scratching the back of his head nervously while also trying to hide the red creeping up on his face.

Axel knew he had a golden opportunity to dart away from the previous topic and so he took it, “Why don’t the two of you go get the ice cream and I’ll meet you at the clocktower.”

“Okay!” Xion said her mind now focused on ice cream, “Come on Roxas!” she grabbed his hand and began to drag him towards the ice cream stand.

“Oh-uh okay” Roxas stammered while stumbling forward from the sudden tug before settling into a comfortable pace with her.

As Axel turned away, he thought to himself ‘Crisis averted for now, I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.’ It’s not that he doesn’t trust the two of them per se, he knows that they are smart and mature considering their chaotic lifestyle. He knows the two of them aren’t ready in the slightest and that if he tells them now it would only get them curious given how curious they are about various things in life. To him, he wants the two of them to take things slowly, have them learn things overtime, and he also does not want to think about if nobodies can even have children. ‘If they’re this clingy already with each other…’ his thoughts trailed off ‘I trust the two of them, but they really are clueless about a lot of things, but then again, I suppose that’s why I’m here for them, after all who else is going to look after them?’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank ClockGuardian7 for the idea of this story, I always appreciate your feedback and really, I appreciate all feedback in general. If you have any suggestions or ideas for stories, let me know, I’m all ears. Though I can’t guarantee that I’ll get to it immediately.


	7. Post-Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Christmas Day Roxas is able to give Xion her last gift, that he wasn’t able to give to her at the time. He reminiscences about the past few weeks and how things have changed. Although he is happy enough to give it to her he laments about not having it ready on time.

Out of all of the holidays that Roxas had learned about, he found that he enjoyed Christmas the most. When the topic first came up, he and Xion listened to Sora explain the holiday with so much enthusiasm and glee that he found himself getting giddy at the explanation. He tried his best to follow Sora’s explanations about all sorts of traditions around this time of the year, though he found himself having to play mental catch up. The topic that amused him the most was when Sora told him about Santa, a jolly old man who travelled all over delivering presents to everyone in a single night. Xion believed him immediately but Roxas was baffled as to how such a thing could be possible. He remembered seeing Sora don a very cocky smile as he explained that he met him and relished the opportunity to brag about how he was right about Santa being real and that he proved Riku wrong after all those years.

Lea and Isa later gave the two a more grounded explanation about the festivities and they understood it better. The next task the two had was determining what gifts to buy each other, with Lea and Isa he came up with a few ideas. However, with Xion he had no clue where to start, after all the two were dating by that time and he heard that there are different expectations about getting gifts, or at least that’s what he was led to believe, or even just picking out gifts for a girl. He was incredibly grateful for the fact that Olette basically picked out most of his gifts, he gave her suggestions, she gave him ideas and options. He knew what Lea and Isa liked so he had an easier time picking out gifts, but he honestly felt bad about being clueless when it came to Xion, it made him feel like he wasn’t truly paying attention to her. In the months since leaving the Organization and beginning their new lives the two had gone through all sorts of different hobbies, activities, and interests. They never had any free time and as such could never explore any real interests, their time was mostly spent sleeping, working, and spending time on the clock tower; but now things had changed.

Their enthusiasm for trying new things was similar but also quite different. In Roxas’s case he stuck with a few hobbies or interests and experimented from there, he found that he enjoys adventure novels, the struggle game that is popular in Twilight Town, and even skateboarding on occasion. Xion on the other hand had an enthusiasm that dwarfed his, a veritable whirlwind of excitement, as she went from one hobby to another, constantly experimenting, and never quite fully settling just yet; though he figured that she would eventually settle on a few interests, he noted that she seemed to be interested in learning how to draw which Naminé offered to teach her.

Thanks to Olette he was capable of producing a decent list of suggestions. He figured that he could get her some clothes, he noted that she seems to enjoy hoodies and although he didn’t quite know her exact size, he figured that from the times that she wears his jackets that she is most likely his size. He settled on a nice-looking hoodie for her that was purple and black as opposed to her usual white and black (in his opinion he thinks purple looks great on her). Olette suggested perfume and he on a gamble decided on a perfume that he read invokes the smell of sea salt (it was a gamble but he figured that if anyone would like it, it would be her.), as well as some colored pencils in case she decided to take up Naminé’s offer. He also got her a bag with a dog on it, the name of the breed he couldn’t immediately place. Yet he felt like something was missing from the gifts he was getting her.

His answer came from Isa of all people, he was ruminating on what was missing when Isa spoke up. They were discussing gift ideas and Isa told him, “Perhaps it’s not personal enough for her?” Roxas thought about that for a long while before deciding on something a little bit daring. He kept the seashells that she gave him during their time in the Organization as a sort of memento, so perhaps he figured that he could somehow make a necklace for her out of some of those seashells. Much to his disappointment he found that such delicate work was not his specialty and all though he found someone who could make it for him, he wouldn’t be able to get it to her in time for Christmas. However, he knew that he could always just give it to her a few days after the fact but it still bothered him a little, after all had he been quicker about picking out gifts he wouldn’t be in this situation.

Setting up for Christmas was also an amusing time as he heard about all of the various traditions that go on. To everyone’s amusement Xion’s eyes lit up when she heard about the mistletoe and with a devilish grin she disappeared and he hadn’t seen her for an hour. Later on, when he was helping Lea set up some decorations on the tree, they had picked up she reappeared with some sort of headband that she fashioned a mistletoe to. Roxas immediately understood the implication and with a grin told her, “You don’t need a plant to give you an excuse to kiss me, you know that right?” She responded with her own grin and simply told him, “It’s always nice to have an excuse, it makes it more worthwhile.” Before pecking him on the lips, and then scurrying off to go help out Isa with something else.

Amusingly she would come back every few minutes, having readjusted the mistletoe, using it as an excuse to kiss Roxas again. While he didn’t mind it, Lea at some point put a hard limit on how many times she can do it, because she was distracting Roxas from helping him with the lights and the ornaments, which she accepted begrudgingly. Honestly, he really loved the whole season, it felt nice just being able to relaxed with everyone that he cares about, a far shoot from their previous lives.

On Christmas everyone got some plaid designed clothing from Lea who wants him everyone to have matching outfits, Isa gave everyone gift cards, though he noticed that he discreetly slipped Lea a sheet of paper, and Xion gave him a new struggle bat and even a new skateboard (he wonders where and how she managed to hide that one.) The most interesting event was when as it turns out they got a new dog with the curious part being that no one took credit for getting the do but no one really cared (although they were still trying to settle on a name for the dog.) 

Admittedly Roxas didn’t know what to get Isa but after he heard an offhand comment from Lea that he likes poetry, he got him some poetry books. He got Lea some frisbees and he managed to find a Moai Head shaped tissue dispenser (he remembered that Lea once wanted one a long while back.)

  


To his relief Xion loved the things he got her, although he still wishes that he could’ve given her his last gift Xion surprised all of them by presenting the group with Wayfinders that she evidently spent a long time crafting, he knew that she was interested in learning how to make one for a long while. While he loved the gift, he couldn’t help but feel guilty because not only did he not have his personal gift ready but he had someone else making it on top of that.

Two days later and he picked up the necklace from the shop where he had it made, and he made his way to the clock tower where he asked her to meet him. She was already there, wearing the coat he got her. It wasn’t snowing but it was still a bit too chilly to sit outside and eat ice cream, he mostly just wanted her to be here because honestly he wasn’t sure if he could work up the nerve to give her a sentimental gift unless they were alone (which was amusing to him, considering he was intending it to give it to her on Christmas day). She saw him approach and said, “Hey, I’m here, what’s up?”

He took a deep breath before presenting her the box, she looked at it curiously, “What’s this?” she said taking the box and examining it. 

“I meant to give it to you a couple days ago, but it wasn’t ready then” he said with a small smile.

She opened it and he saw her smile grow wide as she snatched the necklace from the box, not even bothering to stop the box from hitting the ground, and excitedly held the necklace in her hands. “I love it!” she said.

‘Well that’s good at least’ he thought to himself.

“How long did it take you to make this?” she asked as she went to put it on.

He frowned slightly, “Unfortunately I’m not the best at crafting things, so I asked someone in the market place to help me.”

“I see, it’s amazing nonetheless, thank you for this.” She noticed his slight frown, and got concerned, “What’s with the long face?”

He knew that there was no avoiding her questions whenever she had that look on her face, so he figured that it would be best to come clean.

“This may sound odd or silly, but I just feel bad that I couldn’t get it to you in time, I mean you worked so hard on your gifts, making each of those Wayfinders special and having them ready on Christmas Day, I just feel like I didn’t put in nearly as much effort as you did.”

He was surprised as she suddenly pulled him into an embrace, “You’re right that is a silly thing to think.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t really think that do you?” she asked him.

Now that he was so close to her he could faintly smell the perfume she was wearing, ‘it’s the one I bought her.’ He thought. “Well…I mean…” began Roxas, “I just feel like in comparison to you I feel lazy, I only thought of giving you that necklace like a day or two before Christmas, honestly considering how lost I was in terms of thinking about what to get you, it was only because I had people helping me out that I could actually make any progress, I feel like I just haven’t been really paying attention to you.”

He heard her sigh, “I love you Roxas but you’re really overthinking things. You do care silly; you didn’t know what to do so you asked for help, and even then, you’re still the one who picked out the presents, you just simply got some advice.” She pulled back slightly letting him see the jacket he got her. You knew enough that I like hoodies and you got it in the colors that you think look good on me, when you went to pick out perfume you grabbed one that you knew that I’d like, and you cared enough about getting me this necklace that you sought out someone who could properly make it, you do care Roxas.”

He smiled at that one, she was always right, he just didn’t see it at first, he’s grateful that she’s always there to help him feel better, that’s one of the things he loves about her.

“Besides, truth be told I had a hard time picking out gifts for you.” She admitted

“Really?”

“Yes really, I had no idea what Lea was planning and I didn’t want our gifts to overlap, I practically drove myself crazy trying to make a list for everyone, cross checking it based upon what I’ve overheard, hiding that skateboard, and especially trying to get those Wayfinders made down to the individual details of each one.”

“That just shows that you care” said Roxas playfully

“Hey this is supposed to be your therapy session, not mine” she playfully bopped him on the shoulder. She suddenly threw her arms around his neck pulling him in for another embrace. “Besides even if you didn’t get me that necklace, you’ve given me plenty already.”

“Such as?”

She thought for a moment before rattling off, “Let’s see… happy memories, plenty of ice cream, a place where I feel that I belong, the chance to meet new friends, and of course your love.”

He was sincerely touched by her words, but he jokingly groaned, “Ugh that’s so cheesy.”

She smiled and rested her forehead against his, “I know you love hearing it though.”

He conceded, “You’re right, you do know me so well.” And closed the gap between their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to have this ready on Christmas Day but I got distracted, oh well. For the record I'm like Isa when it comes to getting presents, if I don't know what to get you, you're getting gift cards. I'll be taking a break for January and will be back on February. Happy Belated Christmas and a Happy New Year.


	8. Lovey-Dovey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have no summary, just self-indulgent fluff because why not.

Neither Roxas or Xion were sure about when it happened, but at some point, the two had simply just started dating. The two former nobodies had put two and two together and with some encouragement from their friends had decided to try dating each other. Much to the two’s delight the dynamic of their relationship hadn’t changed, they were just more affectionate with one another.

It was interesting couple of months as the two were in a curious stage where even though they’ve spent a lot of time together, they didn’t have much down time to just casually chat with each other. Back in the organization most of their free time was spent on the clocktower eating ice cream with their other friend Axel. For Roxas it still felt sort of surreal to just wake up and just have the day to himself. There weren’t any arguments with superiors, albeit aside from the ones over who was doing what chore for the day, and there weren’t any daily dangerous missions to fight heartless or be sent off on a wild goose chase. So, while the two of them were close friends and loved each other, there was a still a period of time where they were finding out little details about each other and themselves.

One of the things that Roxas truly learned was that above all else he loved seeing her smile. Even back when he didn’t understand feelings, he knew he liked seeing her happy, but he supposed that he didn’t fully understand what it meant as he just rationalized that her being happy means that things are okay. Seeing her smile always makes him feel warm inside, so that’s what he likes doing. When he sees her eyes light up when finding a kind of sea shell, talking with friends, having ice cream, and if he had to be honest, she’s just been smiling a lot more since they’ve begun their new life. It’s certainly a nice change of pace from seeing her sad all of the time, a good portion of his free time in the organization was spent making sure that she was okay, which he never minded in the slightest. One detail that he found out about himself is that he just loves being affectionate towards her.

He loves kissing her, she always feels soft and he can feel her smile when they kiss. He is completely unabashed about how much he adores her and he doesn’t mind being public about it, albeit he has been told to tone it down around other people as most people aren’t fans of public displays of affection as he’s heard it referred to. He mostly toned it down however when he learned that Xion honestly felt a little self-conscious when they were super affectionate around other people, which he respected. They don’t spend every waking moment together but they usually hang around each other alone for a good half an hour every day. He always feels so giddy around her, it honestly feels silly to him but he can never hide how he feels around her, not anymore at least. Sometimes he says “I love you” just to hear himself say it. It was also interesting to actually learn more about her, to see how she feels, what she’s actually interested in, and what she’s curious about. He’s also learned that while she prefers to be lovey-dovey when it’s just the two of them, she can be just as affectionate as he is.

One thing that didn’t change was that she liked to leave things next to him while he’s sleeping. Back in the organization when he fell into a deep sleep, she left seashells that she found next to him while he slept, which he also did for her when she fell into a deep sleep. While she still on occasion leaves him seashells, she’s mostly taken to just leaving him notes on his dresser, usually at least once a week. Sometimes they can be simple words of affection, or a compliment, but sometimes on a rare occasion, she leaves him a poem. Whether she learned to write poetry or just copies down poems that she likes and wants him to read, he doesn’t know, but he likes to read them because he knows they mean something to her. He once tried to write her a poem to return the favor, it didn’t go well; to her credit she tried her best to smile at it, but he knew that she didn’t like it, even if she did appreciate the effort. He simply just resolved to keep it simple in the future if he wanted to write her another note. She even sometimes sneaked in a kiss on the forehead which he once caught her doing. He faked being asleep one time and managed to catch her caressing his cheek and then leaning down to give him a peck on the forehead, he managed to catch her off guard and turned it into a proper kiss. He’ll never forget the look on her face as her expression was equal parts happiness and bewilderment paired with a crimson blush.

Another thing he learned is that above all else she loves hugs, whether it’s giving him a hug or being hugged, she likes to hold him, which is completely fine by him as she always feels nice to hug. She has a habit of catching him off guard as he could be sitting, minding his own business and not paying attention when he would suddenly feel something pressing against him; a moment of alarm would shoot through him before he would relax realizing that it was just Xion. Xion seemed to enjoy the surprised expression on his face whenever she just suddenly pops up in front of him. She has an uncanny ability to always just casually slide into him and become relaxed, no matter how he was sitting. Sometimes they wouldn’t even speak, just simply relax together, he had lost count over how many times either of them had fallen asleep while hugging each other. He once asked her why she likes hugs so much, she said that it makes her feel relaxed and warm. He wonders if her nature as a different kind of nobody contributed to this, he once recalled that she said that using his keyblade felt warm and that it felt like she was holding his hand. He didn’t think much of it at the time, remarking in his mind that her hand felt a little cold, but just attributing it to how nobodies couldn’t really feel in the first place. She also admitted that she likes holding his hand because it’s reassuring to her whenever they go out. 

It slips his mind on occasion that while he had the luxury of somehow already having friends in Twilight Town, she was a virtual stranger as she never got to interact with the inhabitants of the town properly, always staying in the shadows out of sight and never interfering or at least trying to. To his relief, his friends took to her immediately and he had nothing to worry about. His friends immediately assumed the two were a couple, and after some confusion and explanations they learned about what a couple is, and it got the ball rolling for the two to earnestly think about how they feel towards each other. He finds it funny on how he didn’t think of her that way until someone else had pointed it out, were the two of them always that obvious?

At some point he got his journal back from Lea as the fiery redhead had held onto it for him, along with his other few belongings from his organization days. Lea never read it, as at the time he assumed he could get Roxas to come back and thus didn’t want to violate his friend’s privacy. The biggest surprise he found was remembering just how often he wrote about her in his entries, he really was crazy about her he thought to himself. He also had an amusing thought about how if Lea had read his journal at any point during that brief time after Lea was recompleted and was training with Kairi, they might’ve not had any trouble remembering Xion and how close the three of them were. Perhaps the bigger surprise was when Isa managed to procure Xion’s own journal, he never did explain where and how he managed to find it but she didn’t care, only happy to have it back. They once spent a whole afternoon just reading their journals to each other, mostly out of curiosity, but also just to reminiscence about some of the happy moments they had together.

They lost count of how many times they had ice cream together, but it was a somewhat pleasant trip down memory lane albeit with some sadder moments. One experience they remembered was when he helped Xion get her keyblade back. She told him that it was one of the happiest moments of that whole year for her, she remembered writing about how ecstatic she felt. He skipped around a little bit and told her about the time he spent in Neverland, telling her about how he flew. She was confused at first as they both knew how to glide, though Roxas explained that it was actual flying, not “falling with style” as Lea liked to put it. He promised that he would take her there one day. “But what if I can’t learn how to properly fly?” she asked, he shrugged and said that if he couldn’t find the fairy who helped him learn how to fly then he’d simply just carry her. They both laughed at that one as she then wondered how they would get there, they don’t have a gummi ship and they don’t know how to traverse worlds like how Terra, Aqua, and Ventus can. “Maybe I can convince Riku to let me take it on a joyride for a little bit?” Roxas said, Xion quickly interjected, “You’re going to try and sweettalk Riku into lending it?” She chuckled at that with a grin. It was true that for a while he was still uneasy around Riku due to their past history but that had gradually died down as their relationship turned into a more competitive kind, Xion wondered if that was because of Roxas’s connection to Sora. 

They had a moment of introspection when they went back a couple of pages and read the part where Roxas wrote about love. When he went with Xaldin to the Beast’s castle the surly lance wielder told him not to worry about love as it was a useless feeling but even then Roxas thought that he was wrong, talking to Axel later on that day only confirmed how he felt. He knew that he loved his two friends and that he would do anything for them but he always felt a little different about her. Perhaps deep down he always knew that love was a powerful feeling, even if he couldn’t truly understand it. After all love and a desire to bring her back was what compelled him to charge the organization against all odds. Love for his friends, love for her was what helped him find his way back to them from Sora’s heart. When he admitted this to Xion she was silent for a second and then skipped ahead to towards the end of the book, when everything began to fall apart for the three of them. She read the part where she admitted that she loves the two of them and that she would treasure that one day forever. He hugged her after that statement as he could hear a sad tone to her voice. He knew that she still blamed herself for what happened just a few days, even though it wasn’t her fault that things fell apart like that. Though he certainly blamed himself for what he did to her, those were unfortunate feelings that surfaced shortly after they began to date. 

They blamed themselves for what happened, Xion blamed herself for not being honest with her friends and tricking Roxas into destroying her and then later urging Riku to stop him from his self-destructive course of action, and Roxas blamed himself for destroying her in the first place and not being strong enough to save her. The worst of that grief came out in the early parts of their relationship and with Lea and Isa’s help they learned to deal with that grief and to forgive themselves although the sentiment still lingers and unfortunately it sometimes comes up. Whenever one of them begins to feel that way the other one makes it a point to be there for them and comfort each other. At some point they made a promise to face any future challenges together and to not hide anything from each other. 

They calmed down after that moment and got back to thinking of some of the happier moments they were looking forward to. “So, are we still on for that trip to Neverland?” she said with a nervous smile attempting to make the conversation more positive. “Yeah, I just need to find a way to convince Lea and Isa to let us go off world, alone for a little bit…” “…and also bribe Riku.” She interrupted, “Yes that too…” he added. She laughed “Do you even know how to fly a gummi ship?” “There’s a first time for everything” he said. “Then I guess it’s a date then.” She said. ‘Date’ he thought to himself, that was a word used to describe when two somebodies go out with each other. Truth be told he sometimes does worry if he’s good enough for her, but when he sees her smile when she’s with him and when he feels her hold his hand, he feels reassured. It was rather interesting to hear about Valentine’s Day, which he learned about when he saw that the market had all sorts of strange decorations out, mostly favoring the color red with some occasional pink to it.

He did have an amusing thought when he learned about Valentine’s Day and how it was when couples are supposed to act all lovey-dovey, ‘that’s just how we always are.’ Lea made it a point, almost accusing him when he said that this is one day where couples are supposed to be lovey-dovey, probably referring to the times when he’s walked in on the two ‘making out’ as they call it. As far as Roxas was concerned it wasn’t his fault that Lea didn’t knock, he should know better by now, though he suspected that he was interrupting the two on purpose.

It felt a little strange to be deliberately planning a romantic evening as opposed to all of their spur of the moment decisions that led to various results, some wonderful, and some “interesting” to say the least. For once he was unsure of what to do, asking Lea wasn’t much help as he stated, “Do I look like an expert in girls?” the only suggestion was just to give her flowers and/or chocolate but it gave him an idea.

Though he was no expert in flowers he once over heard a conversation about a particular kind of flower that was very similar to her name, the Shion as it was referred to. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the irony in the flowers having a meaning of “I won’t forget you”, it wasn’t hard to locate the flowers much to his relief. Next on his list was getting a reservation for dinner; while he learned that reservations on Valentine’s Day are next to impossible if not done weeks in advance, he had another idea. He knew the owner of the bistro and with some convincing (and a light bribe) he managed to secure a reservation for two. Going through the motions for the holiday Roxas was glad that he had enough left over munny from fighting heartless, thankful that it seemed to spawn from defeated heartless for whatever reason.

He had no idea how to even hide a bouquet of flowers or how she would set them down during dinner, so he decided to hide them on the clocktower, setting up a little area where he could set them down without the bouquet being ruined, ‘it’s a good thing no one else really comes up here’ he thought to himself. He couldn’t remember much about dinner; he was too distracted by her. He always found her stunning but something about tonight left him breathless, thankfully he managed to hold it together and wasn’t uselessly sputtering, if she was just as nervous as he was then she was hiding it a lot better than he was. Though there was a moment when they argued over who was going to pay the bill, Roxas insisted on paying for it while Xion all but yanked the bill from his hands saying that he’s spent enough on her and to let her take care of him for a change, they eventually settled on a compromise.

Of course, after dinner, they went to the clock tower as that habit never changed, when they want a quiet moment that’s where they go. When they were there he surprised with the flowers and she managed to pull out a box of chocolate that she was hiding the whole time. To his delight she liked the flowers and he liked the chocolate but it felt strange that this was the big moment he was leading up to. He also tried his hand at writing another letter for her, he noticed that she took it and didn’t open it.

“Um, aren’t you going to read it?” he asked

“If you don’t mind, I was going to wait till later, you know to savor the moment.” She answered

“I see…” he trailed off, the two were just sort of staring at each other now.

“So, what now?” she asked just as evidently lost as he was.

“I don’t know… I didn’t think this far, sorry.” They both laughed at that, the awkward tension going away.

“Don’t be sorry I had fun” she reassured him

“I’m just at a loss as to what to do now.” 

“Well I mean we could just enjoy the view, after all we haven’t any real alone time for the past few weeks, we can stay awhile before Lea and Isa come looking for us.” She suggested

Rather awkwardly he asked, “Is it alright if I kiss you?”

She shrugged “Sure, I mean that’s why you brought me here right?”

“Well… I mean I initially just hid the flowers here, but now that’s done…” he was cut off by her kissing him and said “It’s okay, if it helps you out, I’ve been winging it this whole night.”

“I guess that makes two of us then.” He said and then began to kiss her again, after all if the two of them at least got an hour or two before someone comes looking for them, they’ll just have to make every minute count.


	9. Day 357: Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xion is forced to fight her closest friend in order to try and thwart Xemnas’s plan, however a conflict is also raging in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wanted to try my hand at writing some angst as this was an idea I was considering for a while. I was going back and forth for a while, but I ultimately decided to give it a shot.  
> Additional Notes: 03/01/2020: So normally I’m not one to immediately update a story, because I don’t want to keep messing around with the listing on the site, so generally I prefer to wait until I post something new before I go and apply any edits that I think need to be made. But, I got some feedback about this story and decided to rewrite large chunks of this one and the next chapter based on what I got, I rarely say this, but I think I’ve outdone myself so thank you for the feedback “In a Quandry” on the Rokushi discord server, I greatly value all feedback.

She came around the wall of the clock tower and saw him sitting there by the edge as he always was, she knew he’d be here. This clock tower was a special spot for all three of them, their friendship was truly born here. Together they had shared so many happy memories here, it made what she was about to do hurt all the more. ‘It doesn’t have to be this way…’ she thought to herself ‘…maybe we can fight the Organization together, maybe we can convince Axel to join us!!!’ she unfortunately had to stow those thoughts as she knew that it would’ve been impossible. 

While it’s true, that she’s more powerful than she’s ever been she knows where that power comes from. She’s been unconsciously sapping Roxas of his strength, so long as she continues to exist, she will only unintentionally hurt Roxas. ‘What good would the three of us defeating the organization even achieve? Even if we win that isn’t going to stop what’s happening to me…’

‘I’m out of time…’ she thought as she remembered the new changes that had been forced upon; her face wasn’t even her own anymore, even the last semblance of her own identity that she thought she possessed had been stripped away from her. Her face looks just like Sora’s now; she doesn’t know what Xemnas did to her, but it changed her as she can slowly feel herself losing control of her own body. The part that hurts the most is that Roxas is the only one she can count on, although she lost to Axel when they fought, that had been a close fight, she most likely wouldn’t lose again, and he wouldn’t destroy her, not while he’s still a part of the Organization and not after the promise he made to always bring her back. 

She also briefly thought about asking Riku to do the deed but that wouldn’t work, after all what would happen if she went to the place where Sora was sound asleep nearby. If Roxas can defeat her, she can not only return Sora’s memories but perhaps she can also give Roxas back what she took from him. With this in mind she took those fateful steps forward as she sat down next to him, not even saying a word.

“Xion” he called out to her with a smile as she approached him, she always thought he had a lovely smile and he was always so happy to see her, she wordlessly handed him an ice cream as they shared one last quiet moment of peace. Even during this moment, she could hear that little voice in her head telling her to destroy him. When they finished, she turned to him and said “Roxas… I’m out of time”, 

“Wh-what do you mean?” Roxas stammered with a confused look on his face and instead of answering him she pulled back her hood, to show him what she looks like now.

“Tell me Roxas, who do you see, if you see a boy’s face then it means that I’m ready.” she could see that he was at a lost for words so she decided to elaborate further, to make it clear what she intends to do. She walked off the ledge as he tried to catch her and then proceeded to power herself up with an ominous aura surrounding her.

“Now I have to make you a part of me as well Roxas…” She grimly said

With an expression equal parts hurt and confusion he could only ask, “Why?”

“Because it’s why I was created, I was made to copy Sora’s power, I’m nothing more than a puppet…a puppet who needs to play her part now.” Out of everything she’s saying to him the part about her being a puppet was true, she defiantly thought to herself, ‘Even if everything about me is borrowed and fake, even if I am just a puppet; this puppet will choose how she gets to play her part. I will deny Xemnas his ambition, I will deny him his keyblade wielder, and I will deny him his puppet. If nothing else I’ll give Roxas the chance to be free, even if it costs me our friendship and my life.’

Roxas shook his head, “No…I can’t do this…WE can’t do this…we’re best friends, right?” he looked at her pleadingly and it made her resolve falter for a moment. 

“If you won’t fight me, then make it easy for yourself and accept your fate… become a part of me and we’ll be together forever…” She said to him as her new suit of armor began to form around her. Saying each of those words felt like poison in her mouth, ‘he’s offering me a way out…he doesn’t want to fight me…and here I am throwing our friendship away, some friend I am…’ she bitterly thought to herself. ‘… I am sorry Roxas but it has to be this way, even if you hate me for it…it’ll be for the greater good…you deserve to exist…I don’t.’

As she finished powering up her face was covered by a mask, her armor crudely resembling Sora. As much as she detested using these new powers, it came with the benefit of hiding the conflict that was evident within her own eyes. ‘If he sees how hesitant I am…he won’t fight me but I have to provoke him, I know he’s capable of getting mad…I just…I just need to provoke him.’ She could scarcely believe her own thoughts. 

Their fight took them across some of the worlds that they had visited on their missions, a cruel reminder of the time that they’ve spent together, of happier days. At first, she was aggressive hoping to provoke him but he only took moderate retaliatory swings. “Please…please stop… Xion…” she could see the pain in his eyes as he was more focused on dodging her then fighting, ‘he intends to talk me out of this…and the more he tries the more likely it’ll be that I’ll listen to him.’ She stepped back and laughed, “What is there to talk about?” she said mockingly, “You’re Sora’s nobody and I am meant to replicate his power, so I need to eliminate you if I am to fulfill my purpose.” She could see slight tears forming on his face, ‘Please don’t…’ she pleadingly thought to herself. “Doesn’t our friendship mean anything to you?” He asked, “Not Anymore.” she lied to both him and to herself.

He shook his head defiantly, “No…the Xion I know wouldn’t say that…the Xion who is my best friend…wouldn’t just be so…so heartless.” He hunched himself and got into that position that she’s seen so many times, “I don’t know who you are…or what you did to her but I’ll stop you and then…and then we’re going to the beach just like we promised!” As much as she didn’t want it to happen, he knew that something was off, ‘but for the wrong reasons…’ she thought to herself.

As their fight raged on the two found themselves in Halloween Town, she noticed that he was actively fighting her now. Her mind went back to the time when they first fought each other. The two were pitted against each other unwittingly by the Organization. Had Axel not interrupted their fight then it would’ve ended with one of them being destroyed. When the ruse was revealed she was no worse for where…but Roxas was close to collapsing. She remembered throwing her keyblade away, panicking for his wellbeing, “ROXAS!!!” she almost screamed in equal parts horror and panic, rushing to his side immediately, desperate to heal him up. She sincerely thought their friendship was over then and there, but he never once blamed her, in fact he blamed himself for hurting her. Even though she may be a puppet, incapable of feeling, she knows that she felt horrified at her actions and that she was concerned for Roxas above all else, ‘Yet here we are again, only this time it’s for real’ she sadly thought.

It was these feelings about Roxas that convinced her to run away for good, as she learned the truth about what she was. When she learned that her continued existence was only going to keep hurting Roxas she accepted Riku and his groups offer to give up her memories and return them to Sora, at the cost of her own existence. As far she was concerned, she wouldn’t want to exist at the cost of one of her friends fading away, but that choice was taken away and now she’s left with only one other option. Even then, she was a puppet that was never meant to exist in the first place so what would it matter if she faded away, ‘He’s given so much to me…it’s only fair that I give it back.’ “Nothing else matters, so long as Roxas is safe then it’ll be alright” was what she said to Naminé and then asked her, “Can you look after him when I’m gone? I won’t be able to protect him anymore”, the other girl agreed to her request.

As she felt his blows, she noticed something strange about them. Based on what she remembers about Roxas’s strength and fighting techniques, she deduced that he was holding back and when the two separated, with her weapon still squarely pointed at him, she asked, “Why are you holding back?” He looked sincerely confused as he answered in a matter of fact sort of tone, “I don’t want to hurt you Xion… I don’t know what’s happened to you but I don’t want to harm you…I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I seriously hurt you.” If he was trying to weaken her resolve, then it was working. His sincerity combined with the guilt she was feeling for hurting him made her consider for a moment giving up, ‘He’ll forgive me…’ was her train of thought ‘…If I just give up, he’ll forgive me and we can go back to being friends…He always forgives me.’ But she can’t do that, every second spent not fighting is another second that could cause her to lose control and actually try to kill him. ‘No… as much as I want to stop it has to be this way… forgive me Roxas… at least for one last time.’ Gritting her teeth, she responded, “A sweet sentiment, but do me a favor…” she suddenly roared, “…AND STOP HOLDING BACK!!!” and lunged towards him with her weapon raised, she hoped that would be enough to get him to fight her seriously.

In Agrabah, she got her wish, as she saw him fight with the usual ferocity that he saved for the heartless the two would fight on their missions. On one hand she was satisfied that he was taking the fight seriously as it meant that everything was going according to her plans. But on the other hand, it made her feel guilty as she had hurt him and had driven him to the point where he was actually fighting her. Even during the first time she ran away and pointed a weapon at Roxas when he tried to bring her back, he never readied his own keyblade in defense. ‘Even if he remembers me after this…he’ll never forgive me…not after how horribly I’ve treated him. If only I could get him to understand that this was for the better… that I’m doing all of this for him. Knowing him though if he knew the truth about me…he’d probably willingly give himself up for me, he was always so selfless and kind to me. Just this once, let me be selfish Roxas.’ Was her last thought before the fight transitioned again, this time back to where everything began for the two of them.

When she noticed that they were back at the clock tower she thought to herself, ‘how fitting’ she bitterly thought to herself. By now she felt the battle wearing on her, she knew she was almost beaten, ‘just a little bit more… a little bit more and I’ll be gone and you’ll be free…’ she thought. However, she could feel herself losing control, he would have to fight her for real regardless of her efforts. As she rained down pillars of light onto the battlefield, she saw Roxas nimbly dodging each pillar, ‘That’s it Roxas!’ she cheered him on, she was on her last legs and a few more clean hits is all that he would need.

At some point she lost control for a moment but it was enough for her to involuntarily prepare a massive explosion of night, with a burst of willpower she warned him, “GET READY ROXAS!!!”. As the surrounding area erupted with light, she worried over whether she warned him in time. As the light dissipated, she began to frantically looked around for him, she began to panic ‘nonononono, did I destroy him!?!?’ even after all of her efforts to lose to him had she actually made him a part of her? Out of the corner of her eye she saw him hovering in the air, contemplating his next move. She resisted the urge to swat him out of the air, as she thought to herself, 

‘please Roxas… do it…’ was her only thought. 

As if on command, he descended towards her slicing her down the middle of her body with his keyblade. As she felt pain erupt all throughout her body, she knew she was beaten, he won, ‘Thank you Roxas…and I’m sorry.’ That was her last thought before the two crashed down to the ground.

As she felt that newfound power fade away, she began to stagger, and Roxas who she could tell was already starting to forget her caught her, as she gently fell into the arms of the boy that she treasures so much, he look at her curiously and asked her, “Am I the one who did this to you?” “No…It was my choice…to go away now.” Was her answer and she meant it, ‘I deserve it for being so cruel to you…better for you to live instead of me’ But as selfish as it may’ve been, she had one last request for him, “Please Roxas, stop Xemnas and free Kingdom Hearts.” She clasped one of her hands over his just like they’ve done before in the past and she dared to reach for his face and caressed his cheek as she wanted to hold him, even if for a moment as she began to feel her strength go away. In a spark of realization, Roxas snatched her hand as it fell to the ground and he began to remember everything. 

“Please Xion… don’t go… please… stay with me! I’ll get Axel and the three of us can be friends again… we-we can have ice cream and go to the beach together just like we promised!” She shook her head slightly as she told him, “This is for the better Roxas…pretty soon you’ll forget me and you’ll forget the pain…” She was happy that he remembered her even if for a little bit, she was also touched by his actions. Even after deceiving him, even after trying to destroy him, he was still trying to help her. ‘I don’t deserve you in the slightest, I don’t deserve your kindness, your friendship, and I certainly don’t deserve your love.’ That was always the part she loved about Roxas the most, she never felt like a burden around him. He was always there for her no matter what and he never gave up on her. Roxas was still in denial though, much to her own sorrow. ‘I want to tell him…I want to tell him everything…but it will only hurt him more and I’ve done enough damage as it is, better just to fade away with things unspoken.’

“I’ll heal you… just wait… I still know magic…I have healing items I can…I can-” He frantically said as she cut him off, “Please Roxas…like I said…you’ll forget me soon and you won’t feel this pain anymore…just promise me that you’ll free…Kingdom…Hearts” She could feel her strength beginning to fade, the time had come for her to go.

“But I don’t want to forget!” Said Roxas through his tears “You mean so much to me Xion…you’re my life…my everything…I…I…I’m nothing without you, We’ll free Kingdom Hearts together!” she felt like there was something else he wanted to say, did he truly love her? Was fate that cruel that she’d only learn the truth in her final moments, but as sad as she felt she felt strangely happy, happy that she at least gets to hear it at least once from him.

Frankly, she couldn’t imagine going on without him, he’s given her so much and he was one of the only two people who sincerely made her happy. She also feels regretful that she never got to say goodbye to Axel. Even if she loves Roxas dearly, Axel was just as much of a good friend to her. It was because of him that the two were able to even hang out together, she wishes that she could at least say sorry to him. She wondered how hard he would take it, if he even remembered her. The last time they spoke he made a promise to always bring her back, no matter where she went, ‘could he even bring me back from inside Sora’s heart?’ she wondered. While she regrets having to fight the boy that has given her so much, she could fade away knowing that Xemnas’s plan had been thwarted and that Roxas would be okay. She went into this fight thinking he would never forgive after this, ‘I’m so foolish…he’ll always forgive me…because no matter what, we’re best friends…and because we love each other.’ It felt strange to her to earnestly think about love, after all they were only nobodies, and nobodies weren’t supposed to feel things such as love, ‘yet…he always…makes me feel…like I have a heart…’

Even as everything began to grow cold around her and she struggled to keep her eyes open, she felt so warm in his arms. He always felt so warm to her, hence why she enjoyed being near him so much, and why she secretly wished that she could’ve fallen asleep in his arms, tightly holding onto him at least once. ‘If only we had a little more time together…so I could tell you everything.’, even if as nobodies they aren’t supposed to feel things such as love she can’t deny how she feels about him. ‘I can only hope that one day that the three of us can see each other again and we can have ice cream together, that would…that would be nice…’ she thought to herself as she turned to him and said “Goodbye Roxas…I’ll always be with you…” as closed her eyes for the last time, and faded away leaving only a seashell behind as her only remnant of existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped I did this concept well, though I’ve also written another piece to go along with this one. This will be the only time I insist you keep reading as I’ve meant for these two stories to be sort of companion pieces to each other, with a common theme. On another note, Xion’s sacrifice is something I’ve only come to appreciate more as I’ve gotten older as the idea of one last act of defiance to deny the enemy a victory is a powerful thing when done correctly. Plus, part of what makes Roxas and Xion a great couple in my opinion, is that we see them spend a whole year together and we see how they affect each other and cause them to grow as individuals, they earnestly care about each other. Of course, everything gets tragically taken away from them as they’re forced to fight each other to the death, because of reasons outside of their own control. They are each other’s emotional anchor so to speak and the thought of losing one another sincerely hurts them, after all Xion only truly considered returning her memories to Sora when she learned that her continued existence would only hurt Roxas if I remember correctly, and poor Roxas was just absolutely broken when she died, promptly going on a grief fueled rampage as he wanted her back at all costs. It’s no surprise that the memory archives of Kingdom Hearts 3 refer to these two as “The Two Halves Who Long to Be Whole.”


	10. End of Summer Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the truth is revealed to Roxas and he is beginning to remember everything, something feels wrong. For whatever reason there is a blank part in his memories and it’s making him feel hollow inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I consider this to be a companion piece to the previous story so please read that if you haven’t. I’m taking some inspiration from Roxas’s story that was shown as part of the Kingdom Hearts character files that were recently released.  
> Additional Notes 03/01/2020: If it wasn’t obvious before, for some parts I’m just using the game’s dialogue but somewhat paraphrased for some parts, because I think it’s effective as opposed to anything I could say. I was honestly surprised with how much more I had to write about this, so I hope you enjoy this and again I greatly welcome all feedback, so don’t hesitate if something stands out to you, be it a good thing or bad thing.

Nothing made sense for Roxas anymore, as he made his way to the Twilight Town mansion, his mind was trying to rationalize the events of the past few days but to no avail. ‘Everything is fake…everything is a lie, Hayner, Pence, Olette and everyone I knew are all fake? Who would’ve thought the idea of stealing a word would be least shocking thing I’d experience this week?’ Roxas thought to himself as he made his way through the town, heading towards the place that the mysterious voice was guiding him towards. 

Time had seemingly been halted for all denizens of Twilight Town aside from himself and those strange white figures who were so intent on harassing him, but for what purpose? “I don’t have time for this, GET OUT OF MY WAY!” he roared at the figures, attacking them with the Keyblade that had mysteriously found its way into his possession. ‘I have no clue how and why I can wield this thing, but it’s the best I’ve got right now…’ was his only thought on the matter, being the least of his concerns.

He had some time to think so he began to try and mentally process what the events of the past week. “How and why is this all happening?” he said aloud to no one in particular, his mind was trying to furiously reconcile everything that he’s learned over the past few days. ‘This was supposed to be the last few days of our summer vacation, me, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were just going to relax and enjoy ourselves. They can’t be fake…we’ve been friends for years, me and Hayner we met…we met…’ Much to Roxas’s growing horror, he couldn’t remember anything about the three of them from before the beginning of the week, how could he have never noticed this he wondered to himself. ‘Were they fake the whole time?” was his only sane thought, a possibility he didn’t want to think about any further. 

For Roxas this madness began when he seemingly experienced the memories of a boy who as he learned was named Sora, and that he had some sort of connection to this mysterious boy in red. He was shown memories of the boys and his friends throughout different locations, some of them somehow feeling familiar to him. “I can remember them all so vividly, like I was actually there…” was what he usually said when he woke up and wondered to himself when he was alone. The memories that stood out to him the most were ones of Sora and a girl named Kairi. One memory in particular was one where they were standing on two different precipices, as the ground began to shift and pulled them away for each other, holding each other’s hands until the last possible moment. He heard them speak, the words coming clearly to him as if he were actually there, “I’ll come back to you Kairi, I promise!” was what Sora said, “I know you will!” was her response. For some reason the word, “Promise” resonated with him the most and his only question upon waking up was, “Why does that girl Kairi remind me of someone?”

Even stranger was when he apparently fell off the clock tower, as he fell time seemed to slow, and for whatever reason he somehow was able to talk to Kairi. “You’re that girl he likes” was his response, and for whatever reason, she couldn’t remember who Sora was. Even stranger was just how casual he was to her, “I’ll give you a hint, it starts with an S…” his tone had even slightly changed. But strangest of all was that for a brief moment, before everything went dark for him, he saw an outline of a figure, ‘who is that…and why do I feel like I’m forgetting something important?’ was his last thought before the world crashed down around him. When he came to, he tried to picture that mysterious outline in his mind and was rewarded with what felt like a migraine for his efforts, the figure seemingly vanished without a trace.

‘Then after the ‘photo thief’ was seemingly defeated, that man Axel came to town. He seems like he knows me, but I barely know anything about him…’ he shook his head before continuing his thoughts while still making his way to the mansion, ‘…he said that we’re best friends, but he’s obviously in command of those weird white wavy figures who keep trying to attack me.’ He sighed to himself, ‘I wish I could go back to when I thought I was just a regular kid, trying to enjoy the last few days of his summer vacation with his friends, but no…here I am fighting for my life and I don’t know what’s going on anymore…or even what to belief anymore.’

The following night after the first time he fought Axel and he was questioning the events of the past few days, he had experienced those visions again, only this time they were of himself at those various places that he saw Sora’s memories take place. ‘Are these…are these my memories…?’ he thought to himself as he saw himself fighting strange looking creatures that were seemingly made out of darkness. The memories were clear but there was one strangely consistent element, namely that there was always a large blank spot where there was seemingly nothing…not even empty air…just a blank void. ‘Why is that there?’ he remembered asking himself, surprisingly these dreams were lucid and he could feel what was going on… yet there was still the matter of the blank spot. ‘It’s like it’s there but it isn’t, this is even stranger than the ‘photo’ incident, at least there I still knew what was being said and I got the concept but… I just can’t see it, I know I said something in those visions, but I can’t hear what I said.’ 

The last memory that was shown to him, was that he was in a grand castle, a ballroom perhaps? He had his keyblade in front of him, and that blank memory was in front of him. ‘I need to see if I can figure what that is’ was his thought process as he began to intently focus on the void, seeing if he can discern any shape from it. His thoughts we’re interrupted with a white-hot searing pain erupting in his mind, almost as if an outside force was actively preventing him from learning the truth. Although he didn’t learn anything vital, he was able to discern a few things, ‘In this moment, I felt happy…like I did something great and that I was sharing it with something…no someone. Who is this person, why are they so important to me, and why can’t I remember them?’ Those were the questions on his mind when he woke up, which brought his thought process to the present. “I need to find Naminé, maybe then I can actually get some answers so that I can actually know what’s going on.” He said to himself, giving him the motivation that he needed in order to press on towards the mansion, despite his reservations. 

Naminé… the mysterious girl who had some sort of connection to him, the girl that he initially thought was just the girl who was rumored to appear in the second story window of the Twilight Town mansion, was the one bright spot in this otherwise chaotic week. ‘She was the one who reminded to use the power of the keyblade, she seems to know me, yet I don’t know her, could she be the important thing that I’m forgetting about? After all she’s the only one who’s been kind enough to give me a straight answer so far.’ She was the one who helped him remember that he and Axel were best friends, unfortunately he did not yet know any specifics of their friendship, a fact that seemingly disappointed the red headed man who was under orders to bring him somewhere. Roxas wasn’t sure of Axel’s intentions but he couldn’t go with him, not while he still didn’t know everything.

Something didn’t add up to him though, ‘If she’s the important thing I’m forgetting about, then why is there still a large blank spot in my memories? If I could form an instant connection with Kairi, a girl that I’ve only seen in my dreams, then surely, I would’ve recognized Naminé as the girl in my memories?’ He couldn’t help but feel a slightly hollow feeling in his chest, ‘This person must be important to me, they’re in so many of memories yet they feel like a stranger, how could I forget someone so important to me?’ he couldn’t help how strong he felt about this hollow feeling, he was even slightly fighting back tears for a reason that he couldn’t quite understand. “No matter what happens, I’m going to learn the truth, and no one’s going to stop me!” was his declaration as more of those white figures, which he figured we’re called “Dusks” based making that assumption based on things that Axel said, regardless he readied himself as they charged him, intent on bringing him down.

At the mansion, was backed up against the gate as he was surrounded, he received yet another vision of Sora, this time using his key to unlock things, ‘How convenient…’ Roxas thought to himself as he unlocked the gates and hurried inside, not noticing the tall figure who seemingly appeared out of nowhere to halt the white creatures. During this brief moment he thought about this important person again, for some reason he thought that it was a girl, ‘Yeah that makes sense…’ thought Roxas, ‘…based on that weird connection I felt with Kairi and also slightly with Naminé, maybe it’s a girl that was so important to me.’ He tried once again to call upon that brief outline he saw days ago, but was again answered by that searing headache from before, he crashed into the wall, using his free hand to steady himself as he took note of the door before him, taking deep breathes to soothe his headache as he went towards it..

Inside that room he immediately noticed that it was all white and covered in drawings and upon looking at a certain drawing, suddenly memories began flowing back into him about who he is. “I’m a member of a group called Organization XIII; I was the one that they said was chosen by the keyblade and was made to gather hearts for them.” He said to no one in particular, he continued, “Me and Axel were best friends but something happened that split us apart.” He remembered the Organization more clearly now, “They’re a bad group, aren’t they?” he again asked to no one in particular.

“Bad or good, I don’t know.” came a soft-spoken voice from behind him, it was Naminé, the girl he was looking for.

“Naminé…” was Roxas’s only response,

With a small smile that hid a trace of sadness to it, she continued, “They’re a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole, nobodies like you and me.” ‘nobodies’ was the term that stood out in Roxas’s mind, ‘that was what Naminé called me a few days ago…’ truth be told he didn’t like the term ‘nobody’ but as far as he was concerned, that was the least of his problems right now, ‘…she was right, I was never meant to exist.’ He sullenly thought, but he still listened to what she had to say.

He continued to pay attention to Naminé, “They’re desperately searching for something, something that will make them whole again.”

“Like what?” he asked

“Kingdom Hearts” was Naminé’s response, upon saying those words, he heard a voice ring out in his mind, it was a girl’s voice, “Kingdom Hearts” and “Promise” were what he heard her say. The voice was unknown to him, yet it felt familiar to him all the same, ‘that must be the girl I can’t remember, she must’ve asked me to make a promise to her about Kingdom Hearts! But promise her what exactly?’ He knew he had to listen to Naminé though, ‘I’ll have time to think about this later’.

“Naminé, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course, ask me anything”

“Why are you doing all of this for me?”

She seemed to think for a moment before responding, “Because I feel a connection between the two of us, like we’re linked somehow.”

“Like family?” Roxas inquired

“I guess it could be something like that, but there is another reason now that I’m thinking about it.”

“Such as…”

“I think I made a promise to someone, a girl who’s much like us, to help you out.”

“Who was it?”

She frowned, “I can’t remember… but I feel like I made a promise to someone all the same.”  
Roxas also frowned slightly, “I see” when he heard about her apparent capabilities to alter peoples memories, he wondered if she would be able to look into his memories, so that he could figure who this important person was, and why her absence was causing him to feel so sad.

“Can I ask you another question?” this time Roxas wanted to know the truth

“Yes”

“What’s going to happen to me now?”

Again, she frowned, but before she could explain, two figures suddenly appeared, one was the tall figure in the black coat who stole his munny, and the other was the mysterious man in red who drove off Axel after Roxas fought him at the struggle tournament.

“DiZ, there’s too many of them, we’re out of time!” the tall man said, grabbing Naminé by the arm and pulling her towards him, but before Roxas could get to her, the man in red who he now learned was named DiZ interrupted the boy, “No more interferences Naminé!”

Before she was pulled away through the dark portal, Naminé frantically said to him, “Roxas don’t worry, we’ll see each other again soon, even if you don’t recognize me!”

“Naminé!” his sorrow was now replaced by anger as he quickly deduced that this DiZ person was responsible for putting him in this digital Twilight Town, however DiZ left before Roxas could approach him, leaving Roxas alone with his thoughts a mixture between anger over having the answers he sought being taken away from him, and that sorrow immediately creeping back into him as that hollow feeling in his chest returned, yet again.

As Roxas made his way towards the basement, fighting more nobodies, there was one thing in his mind that stood out in particular. ‘I left the Organization, but why?’ he remembered saying to Axel that he had to know why the keyblade chose him, ‘but why would I need to leave the Organization to learn that’ he knew it was clear that his ability to wield a keyblade was connected to his own connection with Sora, ‘considering how interested they are in Sora, I would’ve learned that at some point, maybe it has to do with that girl I can’t remember?’ He also found it odd that some of those blank gaps were beginning to be filled in, even if it was minimal, ‘if Sora is really sleeping here, then maybe it’s connected to him as well somehow.’ With that in mind he resolved to keep going forward, his only real option of learning the truth was to find Sora now, for better or for worse.

When he reached the basement, he found a computer and looking at it brought forth even more memories. He could see that he was back in that dark city, in that world he had previously fled from which he now remembered was called the World That Never Was he was facing off with a boy with long silver hair who he saw as part of his memories and instinctually knew as Riku. They were fighting each other, but for reasons that were not immediately clear to Roxas. He figured that Riku was trying to stop him from doing something important. He could feel the emotions of his past self and felt an uncontrollable amount of grief, rage, and pain all at once, fighting a desperate fight for something that was obviously important to her. 

The part that had unnerved Roxas was just how calm Riku was about the whole situation, “I want the rest of Sora’s memories back” was what he said, Roxas had enough of hearing about Sora, he was only focused on his task, he said that he wanted to set Kingdom Hearts free, so that “She” can come back, ‘was she a prisoner of some kind…?’ Roxas thought to himself, he angrily declared, “I want --- back, I want my life back!!!”. Although Roxas could not hear her name, he knew that must’ve been the “promise” that he made, to set Kingdom Hearts free and to bring her back, that was what he promised to this mystery girl, to this girl who must be so important to him. Riku was dismissive saying, “I can’t let you do anything crazy.” Roxas then saw the aftermath of the battle, that he was defeated by Riku, and thrown into this digital prison. Riku and that DiZ stopped him from fulfilling the promise he made to her, whoever she was, she needed him, for all he knows she’s trapped in that castle and he can’t save her.

He turned to the computer and with his rage boiling over he took out his fury on the computer that must’ve been used to throw him into the digital Twilight Town. It was a meaningless gesture ultimately but it gave Roxas some form of catharsis after all he’s been through this past week. Yet his brief moment of satisfaction was interrupted as thoughts about her came rushing right back to him.

“If she’s so important…why can’t I remember her…” he snarled through gritted teeth as he fought back another headache, he figured that the memories had to be somewhere in there right? He was desperate to remember her, this girl that he obviously cared so much for yet couldn’t even remember what she looks like or even what her name is. All of his memories were coming back yet in large chunks of his memories there was a blank spot, it was still there. He could see moments where he was smiling at her, consoling her, going off on missions with her, most of his memories were of them sharing ice cream on the clock tower where he thought he shared ice cream with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, ‘Axel was there too, does he remember her, is she a blank spot to him too?’ Despite how strongly he felt about her, he couldn’t remember what she was like and he was fighting through the splitting headaches, wanting nothing more than to just remember who she is, even if it’s just a name. ‘what does she mean to me, do I…do I love her, how could I love someone I can’t even remember?’ he wondered internally. 

Unfortunately, he had to put away those thoughts as he encountered more of those creatures, which he remembers are called dusks and just to twist knife on an already miserable week, here was Axel who he now remembered how close the two really are, like brothers. The two faced off once again, Roxas tried to prevent the fight from escalating, “Axel I remember you now.” His former friend was undeterred, “You really do remember huh? I’M SO FLATTERED, but you’re too late” he said as a fiery circle encased the two of them, Axel was evidently intent on having this fight end with only one of them remaining, but Roxas was determined to prevent it from happening, ‘I’ve already lost one friend, I’m not going to lose another!’ was his only thought as he seemingly from out of nowhere relearned the ability to summon two keyblades: Oathkeeper and Oblivion the keyblades that he briefly wielded in his memories. 

Yet Axel was resigned to destroying him, but Roxas wouldn’t be deterred, damn the consequences he won’t be denied the full truth, he needs to know who this girl is…even if it costs him his life. He managed to summon forth those two keyblades from his memories, Oathkeeper and Oblivion.

Roxas couldn’t stand down, not when he’s so close to the truth, not when he still doesn’t know who this mystery girl is, Axel couldn’t stand down either, he was resigned to destroying his friend or be destroyed himself. The two fought as fire flared all over, both of them knew the other’s strengths and weaknesses well from a year spent working together, yet Roxas had the upper hand as his determination prevailed over Axel’s resignation. Roxas managed to win…but he couldn’t destroy Axel, who was still one of his best friends, he could see the pain in Axel’s eyes at having lost as the both of them knew that this would be the last time, they would speak to each other.

“Hey Axel, let’s meet again someday.” He said softly

His friend chuckled, “Just you because you have a second chance doesn’t mean-” he was cut off as he faded away, ‘what did he mean by that…’ Roxas thought.

As he made his way down the hallway, he thought about that week he spent in the virtual Twilight Town. Despite himself he smiled, ‘Even if those memories are false, even if my friendship with Hayner, Pence, and Olette was fake, it all felt so real and I enjoyed every second of it. It’s funny though, so much of my past life somehow creeped into the simulation. Sharing ice cream on the clock tower was the one thing we always looked forward to towards the end of the day.’ He then bitterly added, ‘we even made a promise for the three of us to go to the beach… just like with my other friends in this digital town….’ He was so excited about it, he worked extra hard on those jobs to earn munny and even if it was fake, he enjoyed himself, ‘…and yet… what other choice do I have, run away from it all and live a life of peril and danger, with nowhere to go while being plagued with memories of a girl that I obviously treasure yet can’t remember at all?’ Roxas knew that he had to go to Sora, there was no other choice, if he ran away now, he would never learn the truth about the mystery girl. 

He saw two pods containing two people that he recognized from his dreams: Donald and Goofy, ‘those are two of Sora’s closest friends…’ he looked to the end of the hallway and saw a door, ‘he has to be behind that door…’ Roxas thought to himself. But before he walked through that door, he was shown one last memory; he was in front of the clock tower in Twilight Town…he was holding something…someone. He was making a promise to free Kingdom Hearts and to bring her back. ‘no…no…NO!’ Roxas began to think, fighting back tears, It all began to fall into place, “I hurt her, she was trying to help me, and I hurt her, and she faded away in my arms, it explains everything…” he said to himself as he was sobbing now. “I promised her, that I would free Kingdom Hearts and that I would bring her back…” he said aloud, “But I failed…I failed her and I got thrown into this place, and I forgot her!” his thoughts became angrier as he thought about Riku and DiZ, 

‘They stopped me, they prevented me from fixing my mistake, my once chance to bring her back before I forgot about her!’ “But yet…and yet…I can’t remember her, what kind of a friend am I that I can’t even remember anything about her in the slightest, yet she means so much to me, without her…I feel so empty.” He said aloud, as one thought crossed his mind, she said that she was “returning to Sora now…” with a sudden realization he said, “That must be why I wanted to find Sora so badly, that maybe he was the key to bringing her back…” He composed himself as best as he could, and entered the room; it was a vast white chamber with only lone pod in the middle, and in front of it was DiZ, the man who denied Roxas the only chance he had to save her.

As Roxas’s grief had been once again replaced with rage he could barely contain himself as DiZ spoke. He had the nerve to tell Roxas that “He never had a right to exist...” a statement that served only to further enrage Roxas. DiZ even had the gall to refer himself as, “A servant of the world…” and referred to Roxas as “a tool” a tool that would be used to bring back Sora for DiZ’s own purposes. Roxas reached his breaking point as he lunged for DiZ hoping to at least strike him down as some sort of compensation for all DiZ had put him through. Yet his blows went through him, he had decided to send a data copy of himself in his stead, denying Roxas even that little bit of satisfaction. With as much anger as Roxas could muster he yelled and said “I hate you so much…” with as much venom and anger as he could. 

Yet DiZ’s reaction was only to laugh and suggest that he lend Sora some of that hatred and after that vanished, leaving only Roxas and the pod which opened up to reveal Sora. He looked at the boy with sorrowful acceptance as he knew that his time was up. For a brief moment Roxas thought he saw the faint outline of a girl within Sora, but he could only take a few hesitant steps towards Sora. He knew somehow that when he merged with Sora, he’ll see her again. 

“Looks like my summer vacation is over…” Roxas reluctantly said as light began to fill the chamber. As the light began to engulf him, Roxas felt his life flash before his eyes, showing him all sorts of scenes that he had only recently remembered with no sign of the mystery girl. Yet for a few seconds…he saw her, a girl in a black coat with black hair and a name suddenly came to his lips and even though it was a whisper it may as well have been a booming echo: “Xion” was what he said. 

The memories came flooding back to him, of the time he spent with her, the happy moments, the sad ones, he remembered it all. He now remembered her fully as he realized just how much he truly loved her and just how important she was, ‘Now I remember you Xion…now I remember everything important…’ was the last thought on his mind as he was fully engulfed by the light and faded away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Roxas’s character file came out I decided to do this story, but also have it with the Xion story. Here’s a very depressing thought to consider about Roxas; Suppose that Roxas gets his memories back in two, Xion dying as she did means that she fades from peoples memories, they aren’t gone so to speak but you can’t access them aside from brief moments such as say in Kingdom Hearts 3 when Kairi says something to Axel that Xion said to him and it causes him to briefly see her in Kairi for a second. Now let’s consider the fact that while Roxas and Xion may resemble 15/16-years-old teenagers physically and mentally speaking go from children to being very aware about life and able to grasp many concepts and are about at the level of kids who are 15/16-years-old, biologically they are like 1 years old. During this short life Roxas and Xion spend a lot of time together and are each other’s catalyst for their development as characters and again act as each other’s emotional anchors as they deeply care about each other. They are about as close as two people can be to a couple without actually confessing to one another.  
> Now imagine that Roxas is unable to access any of his memories of Xion from that whole year they spent together, just a large unknown part of his memory is just gone to him as well as memories of his life. Poor Roxas would be absolutely miserable not being able to remember Xion considering how much she means to him. I hoped you enjoy this, if you want to see more angst let me know and I’ll give it another shot. I’ll be sure to make the next one fluffy to make up for how depressing and bleak these two stories are.


	11. Fly with Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xion is fascinated by Roxas’s ability to seemingly fly. Roxas is always willing to show off for her. He shows her how to glide and later plans to take her to Neverland so that she can learn how to properly fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always like the idea of Roxas taking Xion to go flying in Neverland.

It was an average day in Twilight Town, Roxas and Xion were having ice cream on the clock tower. The two were content to just eat in silence though Xion had her attention fixated on some birds flying around in the distance.

As she watched the birds zip around, she thought about something that Roxas had told her a while back. He told her that one-time Roxas and Lea were once able to actually fly while they were in the world known as Neverland. She didn’t know how that was possible but considering the things they’re already capable of doing it wasn’t that much of a stretch. There wasn’t much else for the two to talk about at the moment so she figured that now was a good time as any to ask about it.

She turned to Roxas and asked him “I know you’ve already told me about this but do you and Lea really know how to fly?”

“Yep, well kind of.” was her friend’s response.

“What do you mean by kind of?” Xion was skeptical but nonetheless interested.

“A fairy sprinkled some dust on us and we were able to fly around while we were in Neverland.”

“Ok” she nodded listening intently

“But it seems like that dust is only effective in Neverland, in other worlds we’re only able to glide. Don’t you know how to glide Xion?”

She shrugged, “I mean not really, I think I do but I’m not sure.”

He looked at her with a confused look in his eyes, “Can’t you just copy what me and Lea do?”

“I can’t copy things instantly; I need to see it multiple times before I can perfectly commit it to memory.”

She saw a wild look in his eye as he made to get up, instinctively she followed him. “Then I have an idea.”

Roxas was always looking to impress Xion, he liked the way she looked at him with admiration whenever he showed her something cool. He would never pass down an opportunity to show off for her and he was also hopelessly in love with her.

“I’ll show you how.” was his smug declaration.

Curiosity was etched onto her features, “What do you mean by that?”

“I’ll show you how to fly.”

“Right now?” He could see that she was still rather confused by what he said.

“Yes, right now.” The smile on his face was still beaming.

“But you said that you and Lea were only able to fly in Neverland.” It wasn’t a question so much more as it was her reaffirming what he just said.

His hands were waving around as he continued, “Yeah I know, but I can still show you how to glide and I think we’re at the perfect place to do so, I can give you a quick crash course.”

“Do you think we’re at a high enough place to practice?” Xion was still skeptical but he could see that she was interested in his idea.

Roxas had to think for a moment. _While the Clock Tower is certainly tall enough, we would still be dropping quick enough to where we would still need to avoid the buildings. If only I could just launch the two of us into the sky…wait I can!_

“Don’t worry we can use Aero in order to gain some extra height if you’re worried about crashing.”

He noticed that her brow was furrowed as she questioned him, “Would that even work?”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t, if we can launch heartless with it then we can launch ourselves.”

She shrugged, “Makes sense to me, you do know how to cast it right?”

He did his best to keep his smile on as he tried to reassure her, “It’s been a while but I’m sure it’ll come back to me.”

Xion didn’t even miss a beat before responding, “Okay I’ll cast it, and then you glide. I do have a request though.” He noticed that she shuffled a little in place and he could’ve sworn that he saw a faint blush creep onto her face.

“Sure.” Whatever she wanted; he could do it no problem.

“Can I hold onto you while you glide, so I don’t fall?”

He had to fight the blush that was creeping onto his own face, “Of course, though you could always just stay on the ground if you’re worried.”

“NO!” he lurched back, a little startled by her sudden outburst.

“I-I mean that is to say, I’d learn how to glide better if I was right next to you while you were doing it.” He noticed that she was absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs.

Shortly after they were huddled together with Xion tightly gripping onto his back. He couldn’t see her but he figured that she was alright.

“Okay so here’s the plan, when I say go, we jump at the same time while I cast the spell.” Roxas was still slightly surprised that Xion insisted upon accompanying him but it didn’t matter. _I know what to do, she has nothing to worry about._

“Sounds good.” Upon hearing Roxas’s confirmation she began the countdown.

“5…4…3…2…1…GO!” They both jumped simultaneously as Roxas felt the wind shoot up from beneath him as it lifted the two of them upwards. He couldn’t believe it, their plan actually worked. When he felt himself not rising anymore, he hovered in place so that he could get his bearing and of course check on his companion.

“You alright Xion?” Her arms were still tightly wrapped around him so he knew that she followed him up.

“Yeah, that was exhilarating.” From the sound of her voice she sounded excited, he couldn’t blame her. She was most likely looking at the town below them. Twilight Town seemed so much more distant now from how it normally looks when they’re on the clock tower.

“Are you okay Roxas?” he found it touching that she was concerned for him, but he’s fine, he’ll do anything to make her happy. It was around this time that he also noticed that she had her legs wrapped him as well.

“Yep, so what do you think?”

“Looks great but how do you actually glide around?”

He took a minute to consider his answer. Gliding was something he never really thought about in terms of how it works, he just does it without any real thought.

“Well it’s kind of like I just do it, like I think about it but not really. It did take me a little bit to actually just do it without any real thought.”

“I see, so like how you’re staying in place? You just don’t really think about it?”

A devilish idea formed in his head, it was horrible and she would be ticked off with him, but he couldn’t resist the idea.

“Well I still have to concentrate, otherwise I’d fall…like this.”

If only he could see her reaction in that split second before he allowed himself to drop, it would’ve been priceless His imagination would have to suffice.

“GAH!” she clung onto him even harder as he laughed, “You could at least warn me before you do something like that!” she hissed into his ear though he could hear her fighting back her own laughter.

“Were you scared?” He playfully shot back.

“No, because I knew you wouldn’t drop me, I trust you.” There was an awkward silence between the two after that. “A-Anyways shall we glide?”

He nodded his head, glad that she couldn’t see the growing blush on his face, “Of course.”

Shifting himself forwards he began to glide. It still felt natural to him and he hoped that Xion was somehow learning how to glide, not that he minded her clinging onto him. The town was quickly moving past the two as they glided by.

They went over the market place, the sandlot, and they even made a detour towards sunset heights. Roxas was surprised by how slowly the two were falling, they moved gracefully and without any effort. He figured that they had enough time to fly by the mansion and then make their way back to the clock tower.

She was laughing, she was enjoying herself. Roxas was a little nervous thinking about how close she was but he shrugged it away. It made him happy to know that she was smiling and excited.

His mind began to wander as he imagined what she must look like right now. She always looked so beautiful him and he liked to imagine how the wind was playing with her hair. If it were longer it would be flowing around wildly.

For a brief moment he wondered what it would be like to kiss her while they floated in the air. Admittedly he doesn’t know much about romance but it would probably be an amazing experience.

His daydream was broken as he heard her saying something, his focus came back to him as he suddenly remembered that they were still flying. She was warning him about something.

“Roxas look out!” she panicked and Roxas saw what made her so worried, they were on a collision course with the clock tower. Shifting upright he abruptly slowed himself down but he still collided with the wall, thankfully neither of them were hurt. The only thing that was actually hurt was Roxas’s pride.

As he slumped towards the ground after his faceplant Xion somehow caught him. She must’ve let go before he crashed, he also noticed something interesting.

While Xion held him, they were floating gently downwards towards the ground. Evidently, she now knew how to glide, the important part though was that she was alright. Relived at her being okay he was content to just lie in her arms as she touched the ground.

Her tone was concerned but still sweet, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah just a little dazed is all.” He felt at ease as he felt healing magic wash over him. “I did promise you that I’d give you a crash course on how to fly.”

Despite seeing her face scrunch up in annoyance at his cheesy one liner he smiled despite himself, _even when she’s annoyed, she looks so cute._

“Did that help you learn how to fly?” Roxas asked.

She smiled and nodded, “Yes it did, I’ll try it myself now, you just stay and rest for a little bit.”

Still dazed, Roxas could only smile at her like an idiot.

He watched her go, already as proficient as he and Lea are at flying. _She really is incredible. She’d be a pro at flying in Neverland. If only I could take her there._

One of the few downsides to no longer being nobodies is that they no longer have access to the corridors of darkness. Those corridors provided steady access to all of the different worlds that they needed to travel to. Their only real options now for travelling between worlds were either via the gummi ship or to transform their Keyblades and ride them as vehicles.

The former is unlikely as they don’t own a gummi ship and Riku isn’t one for letting Roxas take it out for a joyride. The latter isn’t possible as they neither have keyblade armor nor are they able to transform their Keyblades.

Roxas knew that there was a third option, though he would need to do a favor or two. A plan began to form in his head as he watched her fly around. Every so often she would stop and wave at him, and he would weakly wave back at her as they smiled at each other. _I was right, she does look beautiful when she’s flying around._

A Week Later…

“Are you sure about this?” Xion frowned as a blindfold was tied around her eyes. For whatever reason Roxas had asked her to come to the clock tower so that he could show her something. She didn’t know why she had to be blindfolded like this though.

“Yep, I’ve got something really cool to show you, but I need you to keep your eyes closed for a second.”

“Okay” While it was a strange request, she didn’t see anything wrong with it. After all, she trusts him. She then felt a strange sensation flow over her as she felt herself be moved from the clock tower onto something else entirely. Even stranger was that she heard the sound of water crashing around her. _Where are we, are we somehow at the beach? Why did Roxas want to show me this?_

“Okay you can take it off now.”

When she heard Roxas say that she made to untie the blindfold and she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. They were indeed by the ocean, but it wasn’t by the beach. Roxas had brought her to a rocky pillar that was surrounded by more rocky landings, water, and if she squinted, she could see small islands in the distance.

She blinked quickly in surprise and took in her new surroundings, “Where are we, and how did we get here?”

“We’re in Neverland.” He was so matter of fact about it too, which surprised her even more.

“But how?”

“Like this” The boy reached into his pocket and produced a strange crystal-like object.

This only raised even more questions for her, “What is that and where did you get it?”

She noticed that realization was dawning on his features as he must’ve suddenly remembered that he has some explaining to do.

 _He can be so funny sometimes. Whenever he gets excited by something he can get caught in his own enthusiasm._ But that was something she liked about him. She likes seeing him get so passionate about things. Honestly, she finds it kind of cute.

Roxas used his other hand to gesture towards the odd crystal apparatus he was holding. “This is a device I asked Merlin to make for me. I don’t know the details but it can be used to take us between Twilight Town and Neverland whenever I want it to. Unfortunately, it only works for those two worlds and we need to be in either of those worlds to begin with.”

Xion nodded, understanding his explanation. “Neat, so how did you get it?”

He smiled, “That’s a story for another time.”

She looked around again, “So…am I able to fly now?”

“Not yet, I need to find that fairy again and ask her to sprinkle that dust on you.”

“So how are we going to get around?”

“Do you mind being carried again?”

“Are you going to crash again?” she couldn’t help but tease him.

“Nope.” He quickly shook his head.

“Alright then, let’s get going.” She made to get behind him so she could grab onto him like last time.

“Wait.”

“Hm?” She was confused as to why he stopped her.

“I can carry you this time from the front, if you’d prefer it that is.” He stammered; she couldn’t help but notice that his face was turning red. Was it too cold for him here?

“Like in your arms?” Internally she smiled at the irony of his proposal. At the clock tower she was the one holding him as they floated above the ground after their session’s abrupt end. Now here he was wanting to hold her. The idea appealed to her, and if she had to be honest, she wanted him to.

“Yes.”

“Whatever’s easier for you.” She attempted to shrug nonchalantly and approached him as she suddenly felt one arm sweep her legs off the ground while the other one wrapped itself around her back. Suddenly she was a lot closer to him. Now that she was so close to him, she couldn’t help but focus on his face.

She always found him handsome and sometimes found herself longingly staring at him. However, those glances were done from a distance while here she was close enough to more intently focus on his features.

 _Yep he’s definitely turning red. That’s weird though, I don’t feel cold at all. Maybe I should get him a scarf at some point._ She had to avert her gaze as she noticed that he was staring at her, he must’ve caught onto her own staring.

Instead of taking a running start off of the rocks like she thought he was going to do, he opted to simply rise up into the air. In a gentle motion she wrapped her arms around his neck in order to better stabilize herself. Roxas’s immediate reaction was to stiffen slightly. Had she gotten too intimate with him or did he simply not expect her to do that? She hoped that it didn’t freak him out.

It felt different this time around. In Twilight Town their little setup just simply launched them into the air allowing them to more or less free fall towards the ground. Whereas in this world their ascent was more gradual. It gave her an opportunity to better appreciate seeing the landscape below her grow smaller and more distant. The other obvious difference was how she was experiencing it this time.

In Twilight Town she was only able to cling to his back while he glided around. While it was the more efficient way to ferry her around, she was slightly disappointed that she couldn’t see his own reaction. While she knew from the sounds that he made he was enjoying himself, she couldn’t see his face. She always liked seeing him smile, she found it reassuring. But here she was cradled in his arms, a position that she did not mind in the slightest.

The other important difference about this moment is that they were alone. In Twilight Town there was a possibility however slight it would’ve been that they could’ve been seen. Honestly, she’s not sure what their friends’ reactions would’ve been though it was humorous to imagine.

Here in Neverland however, they were alone and they had all sorts of privacy. No one they knew could really bother them here, it excited her a little. _I wonder if this counts as a date?_

“So where are we going exactly?” She was curious as to where this fairy was.

"I don’t know, I was on one of the islands during a mission and I was looking at this pirate ship when she suddenly came up to me. She couldn’t speak to me but I figured that she wanted my help and so she sprinkled some dust on me so that I could get to the ship.”

“Huh” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. If she had to be honest though that seemed perfectly in line with some of the other stuff they’ve seen on their missions.

A shape passed by in the corner of her eye and she craned her head to better see what she just glimpsed. The shape appeared to be a boat, she quickly got Roxas’s attention and indicated towards it.

“That it?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“So, what now?”

She saw his face pucker as he quickly thought to himself and then respond, “We’ll hang around the ship and see if she comes around again. From what I recall she seems to keep tabs on the ship and their crew. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

There wasn’t a solid place to land so they settled for leaning against a rock jutting out of the water while still floating in midair. As they floated, she looked around some more. She found it intriguing that in all the worlds they go to, the water and the ocean by extension felt the same to her.

When she first went to Destiny Islands and started her habit of collecting seashells the waves crashing against the shore and the wind that she felt blowing in from the ocean made her feel relaxed. In Twilight Town at the beach she felt the same way and even now as she saw the water stir around her, she felt relaxed. It helped distract her from her heart beating like a jackhammer from being so close to Roxas.

 _He’s so close, I could kiss him._ She didn’t know where that sudden impulse came from. Perhaps the privacy that this world afforded the two gave her some measure of confidence. It wouldn’t be a good idea to be too rash though. If she misread the situation, it would be incredibly awkward for the two to say the least. _I wonder how he feels about me._

She knew that the two were close but she couldn’t quite tell whether their bond was merely a friendly one or a potentially romantic one. They were so close that they were sometimes indistinguishable from a couple. Their relationship had sometimes been a subject of speculation amongst their circle of friends. Ultimately, while she may be in love with him, if he doesn’t see her that way then she’s content to simply remain friends. Of course, that being said, if he loves her back then she’ll happily accept.

Her reverie was broken as she noticed that Roxas was staring intently at her, she must’ve been gazing at him again. Their gazes were locked on each other as her breath got caught in her throat. Her eyes were focused on his lips and she noticed that from the look in his eyes that he was looking at hers. The moment lasted for a couple seconds before a yellow spot quickly flitted about out of the corner of her eye. Roxas also looked at the glowing spot as he smiled, “There she is.”

“Hey how are you doing, uh Tinkerbell was it?” the fairy nodded with a small smile at the mention of its name.

She looked at the two suspended in midair, Xion wondered what the fairy was thinking about.

“I know this is sudden but I have a favor to ask you. This is Xion, one of my best friends and I wanted to take her flying around Neverland.” Tinkerbell flew closer to the pair and started eyeing them up and down while slowly flying around. “I-If it was alright with you, do you think you could please do that thing again and make it so that she can freely fly around; it would mean a lot to me.”

Xion observed the fairy move a hand under its chin in contemplation. Tinkerbell then had an odd smirk as she began to dart all around the pair. The dust that Roxas had talked about earlier enveloped the two, though Xion didn’t feel anything. When Tinkerbell stopped flying, she turned around to leave. She could’ve sworn that the fairy had winked at her before she went to leave. _What was that all about?_

Xion turned to look at Roxas, “So…is that it, I can fly now?”

He smiled, “Yep”

She couldn’t help but frown a little, “I don’t feel any different, is there anything else to it?"

“Nope, you just got to believe, that’s all.” She found his smile reassuring. _Well I mean, he is the closest thing I know to an expert on the subject. If he says I can fly, then I can fly._

The pair moved towards the rocks so that she could attempt to fly easier. Hesitantly, she slowly wriggled herself out of his hold and settled herself on one of the more spacious rocks. She still felt a sense of trepidation, she doesn’t want to disappoint him after all.

Roxas’s hands were outstretched towards her, “Here, grab my hands and we’ll rise together. I’ll help you.”

She smiled, _He’s always so willing to help me out no matter what. He always believes in me, if he’s here then I can do it._

She reached for his outstretched palms and confidently slid her hands into his own as he began to lightly pull her. To her surprise she felt her feet lift off the ground and she wasn’t being dragged by him. They were moving together, she was rising.

When they reached a decent height above the rocks, Roxas had a beaming smile on his face. “See, you did it!” She didn’t have a response; she was unfortunately rather tongue tied at the moment.

“Follow my lead, when you get the basics down then we can soar around like birds.”

Xion could only nod her head enthusiastically in response.

As they flew Xion felt herself become more accustomed to flying, it felt a little awkward but she was getting the hang of it. Daringly she skimmed the surface of the water, watching as the waves parted around her. _I can see why Roxas was so insistent on bringing me here, this is pretty fun._

She caught Roxas watching her, “See, I knew you were a natural at this.” He looked rather satisfied watching her fly towards him.

When she caught up to him, he circled her slowly with a measured gaze. Admittedly, she felt a little bashful under his gaze but didn’t show it. “Now that you’ve got the basics down…you’re IT!” he rushed forwards and patted her on the shoulder and then darted off.

It took her a moment to register what had happened but when it did, she huffed and took off after him, “You dirty cheater.” She muttered to herself. 

It took her quite a bit to catch up to him, he was a slippery one and had more experience with flying than she did. However, Xion was always a fast learner and was learning quickly. What didn’t help matters was his insistent taunting, “Too slow” was what he often said. _Keep laughing flyboy, it just makes my eventual victory all the better_.

She began to learn all of his tricks such as his cork screws and abrupt sharp turns. While she couldn’t quite match his techniques, she learned to be craftier in order to even the odds. When they were darting by rocks, she would cut him off and would often use higher elevation to her advantage, she was guiding him towards a trap of her own.

The real breakthrough came when she suddenly dived causing him to shoot up. In return when she swooped down, she angled herself upwards in a neat arc keeping her momentum as she rocketed towards him, not unlike a bird of prey.

Realization came to Roxas all too late as he could only brace himself as Xion tackled him while also tightly embracing him while they were hovering in the air.

“Gotcha.” She whispered into his ear and pulled back to see a grin plastered on Roxas’s face.

He looked ecstatic, “That was incredible, and to think you were so worried about not being good at this.”

 _Only because you’re here with me._ She wanted to say that to him but couldn’t bring herself to. Even while pumped as she is right now, she couldn’t bring herself to confess to him, not yet at least.

Roxas’s grin was still there, “I want to try that maneuver, care to show me how?”

She coyly smirked at him, “Let’s do it from a higher elevation, unless of course you’re scared that is.”

Now it was Roxas’s turn to scoff, “Me? Never.” he then began to rise up with Xion following behind him.

As they climbed, she took a moment to observe her surroundings as well as look up. _I wonder how high we would need to be to touch the clouds._

When they reached a suitable distance, they both looked down, it was certainly a steep drop. Once again Roxas offered a hand to her.

“Shall we?”

Without a moment of hesitation, she grabbed his hand and after an unacknowledged countdown between the two, they began to fall. They were quickly gaining speed but she had an idea as to when to pull up. When they reached the point that she figured out in her head she had to yell so that he could hear her over the roaring wind.

“NOW!”

Following her lead, Roxas began to pull up but they didn’t shoot up exactly like Xion did last time. Instead they opted for a lower angle so that they were gliding a meter or two above the water but weren’t crashing into it.

As they soared over the water, they were both laughing and Xion had an idea.

Whipping her free hand around, she gripped Roxas’s other hand and pulled him as they began to spin together. Roxas reacted with a surprised yelp but otherwise quickly adapted to this new motion.

This lasted for a few seconds as their shared momentum began to slow down. Still laughing, they both took a moment to reorient themselves. While her spur of the moment idea was a fun one, it left two feeling rather dizzy and lightheaded for a moment.

“That was…wow” Roxas was at a loss for words, Xion couldn’t blame him. Her own heart was hammering like crazy as she still felt the exhilaration of the moment pass through her.

In the heat of the moment she hugged him tightly, “Thank you for taking me here, I’m having a lot of fun.”

As she pulled back, she saw that his face was beet red, “You’re welcome, truth be told I wanted to bring you here for a long time. Since back when we were in the Organization.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, when I first came here, I had a lot of fun just messing around. Whenever I saw you and you were feeling down, I thought about this place and how much I enjoyed myself. I hoped that if I could bring you here, then you wouldn’t feel so sad. Of course, I never got the chance to do so.”

Now it was her turn to blush, “That was very sweet of you.”

She could see that he was stammering “Y-Yeah I’d sometimes think about stuff like this and how it would cheer you up. How it would be nice to make you feel happy again”

She tilted her head to the side, “You think about me like that?”

Roxas’s eyes widened in surprise, but then they slightly hardened. _Did he not mean to say that out loud?_ “Yes, I like seeing you smiling. it makes me feel better knowing that you’re okay.”

Honestly, she was at a loss for words, she didn’t know what to say. To hear it straight from him that he likes seeing her smile made a bold thought cross her mind. _You know what? I’ll go for it. This seems like the best chance I’ll get so I may as well be straightforward._

Calming her nerves, she looked him in the eyes, “Can I kiss you?”

Judging from his shocked expression she was initially crestfallen but then she snapped to attention as she heard him say, “Yes.”

Nervously, she cupped his face and tilted her head so that she could press her lips to his as she had seen from pictures of people kissing. When their lips finally touched, all the previous apprehension that she felt had vanished. She felt him cup her face, using his thumb to stroke her cheek as they kissed.

They kissed for a few minutes, pulling back every so often for air before going back in. When they finally finished, she touched her forehead to his and smiled.

It was Roxas that broke the silence between the two, “How long did you want to do that?”

Xion took a moment to consider her answer and then responded, “If I had to give an actual answer, then I’d say when we got our new bodies and our hearts. But really, I think I wanted to do that for a long time but just didn’t realize it. How about you?”

He smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Honestly it was the same for me. I guess I always felt this pull towards you and just didn’t know how to properly deal with these feelings for a long time. I suppose I just wanted to wait till I felt ready and talk to you in private about it.”

A wry smile began to play on her face, “So was that the whole point of this trip, to work up the courage to confess to me?”

Roxas gave her his own coy smirk, “Not necessarily, I wasn’t lying when I said that I wanted to bring you here to show you how to fly. Though I suppose this worked out well enough so I’m not complaining.”

She nodded “Fair enough, I wonder what the others will think when we tell them that we’re a couple.”

“I don’t think anyone will be really surprised, though we don’t have to worry about that until later. The sun is still high in the sky, so we got plenty of time.” He began to fly away with Xion following, slipping his hand into hers.

She giggled, “Besides I think we’ve earned ourselves a little bit of time alone from the others.”

He smiled, “Let’s go then.”

As they soared away, Xion took a moment to reflect.

_Things have changed so quickly these past few months. First, we vanished, and then we slept inside Sora’s heart. Then we were suddenly given new bodies and told that we have hearts now. Now we’re adjusting to a whole new different way of living. While I may still shudder when remembering some of the bad times it isn’t so scary now. We have plenty of friends who care about us and now, now we have each other. So long as I’m with Roxas we can handle anything together._

She looked at Roxas one more time as he looked at her, they both gazed at each other lovingly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a rock quickly approaching and they swerved out of the way. Evidently, they still had to much learn about paying attention while flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be put on hold for a month or two after this. Rokushi week is coming up in June and I need to start writing for the seven prompts.


End file.
